Obstetric complications and asthma in childhood

Studies have shown that perinatal factors are associated with childhood asthma. The current analyses examined the association between obstetric complications and risk of asthma at the age of 7 years using a prospectively population-based birth cohort in northern Finland. Results indicated that obste...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Journal of asthma Vol. 37; no. 7; p. 589
Main Authors Xu, B, Pekkanen, J, Järvelin, M R
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 2000
Subjects
Adult
Apgar Score
Asthma - epidemiology
Asthma - etiology
Child
Cohort Studies
Delivery, Obstetric - adverse effects
Delivery, Obstetric - methods
Female
Finland - epidemiology
Humans
Male
Pregnancy
Prevalence
Prospective Studies
Risk Factors
Finland
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:Studies have shown that perinatal factors are associated with childhood asthma. The current analyses examined the association between obstetric complications and risk of asthma at the age of 7 years using a prospectively population-based birth cohort in northern Finland. Results indicated that obstetric complications were associated with a higher risk of asthma among children. Those children who were administered special procedures at birth, i.e., cesarean section, vacuum extraction, and other procedures, including use of forceps, manual auxiliary, and extraction breech, had an adjusted odds ratio (OR) for asthma of 1.38 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.00-1.92), 1.32 (95% CI 0.80-2.19), and 2.14 (95% CI 1.06-4.33), respectively, as compared to children who were delivered normally. Children who had a lower Apgar score at the first and the fifth minute after birth also had a higher risk as compared to those who had an Apgar score of 9-10. The results encourage further evaluation of the association between obstetric complications and risk of asthma among children in other populations, and further exploration of possible mechanisms underlying the association.
ISSN:0277-0903
1532-4303
DOI:10.3109/02770900009090814