@article{discovery1475441, year = {2016}, volume = {137}, number = {4}, title = {Early growth characteristics and the risk of reduced lung function and asthma: A�meta-analysis of 25,000 children}, month = {April}, pages = {1026--1035}, journal = {Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology}, note = {Copyright {\copyright} 2015 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma \& Immunology. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved. This manuscript version is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Non-derivative 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). This license allows you to share, copy, distribute and transmit the work for personal and non-commercial use providing author and publisher attribution is clearly stated. Further details about CC BY licenses are available at http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0. Access may be initially restricted by the publisher.}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2015.08.050}, author = {Den Dekker, HT and Sonnenschein-van der Voort, AM and De Jongste, JC and Anessi-Maesano, I and Arshad, SH and Barros, H and Beardsmore, CS and Bisgaard, H and Phar, SC and Craig, L and Devereux, G and Van der Ent, CK and Esplugues, A and Fantini, MP and Flexeder, C and Frey, U and Forastiere, F and Gehring, U and Gori, D and Van der Gugten, AC and Henderson, AJ and Heude, B and Ibarluzea, J and Inskip, HM and Keil, T and Kogevinas, M and Kreiner-M{\o}ller, E and Kuehni, CE and Lau, S and M{\'e}len, E and Mommers, M and Morales, E and Penders, J and Pike, KC and Porta, D and Reiss, IK and Roberts, G and Schmidt, A and Schultz, ES and Schulz, H and Sunyer, J and Torrent, M and Vassilaki, M and Wijga, AH and Zabaleta, C and Jaddoe, VW and Duijts, L}, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Children born preterm or with a small size for gestational age are at increased risk for childhood asthma. OBJECTIVE: We sought to assess the hypothesis that these associations are explained by reduced airway patency. METHODS: We used individual participant data of 24,938 children from 24 birth cohorts to examine and meta-analyze the associations of gestational age, size for gestational age, and infant weight gain with childhood lung function and asthma (age range, 3.9-19.1 years). Second, we explored whether these lung function outcomes mediated the associations of early growth characteristics with childhood asthma. RESULTS: Children born with a younger gestational age had a lower FEV1, FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio, and forced expiratory volume after exhaling 75\% of vital capacity (FEF75), whereas those born with a smaller size for gestational age at birth had a lower FEV1 but higher FEV1/FVC ratio (P�{\ensuremath{<}} .05). Greater infant weight gain was associated with higher FEV1 but lower FEV1/FVC ratio and FEF75 in childhood (P�{\ensuremath{<}} .05). All associations were present across the full range and independent of other early-life growth characteristics. Preterm birth, low birth weight, and greater infant weight gain were associated with an increased risk of childhood asthma (pooled odds ratio, 1.34 [95\% CI, 1.15-1.57], 1.32 [95\% CI, 1.07-1.62], and 1.27 [95\% CI, 1.21-1.34], respectively). Mediation analyses suggested that FEV1, FEV1/FVC ratio, and FEF75 might explain 7\% (95\% CI, 2\% to 10\%) to 45\% (95\% CI, 15\% to 81\%) of the associations between early growth characteristics and asthma. CONCLUSIONS: Younger gestational age, smaller size for gestational age, and greater infant weight gain were across the full ranges associated with childhood lung function. These associations explain the risk of childhood asthma to a substantial extent.}, keywords = {Preterm birth, asthma, children, infant growth, low birth weight, lung function, meta-analysis}, issn = {1097-6825} }