Birth weight and risk of asthma in 3-9-year-old twins: exploring the fetal origins hypothesis

Karin Kindlund; Simon Francis Thomsen; Lone Graff Stensballe; Axel Skytthe; Kirsten Ohm Kyvik; Vibeke Backer; Hans Bisgaard

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/thx.2009.117101

Birth weight and risk of asthma in 3-9-year-old twins: exploring the fetal origins hypothesis

Karin Kindlund, Simon Francis Thomsen, Lone Graff Stensballe, Axel Skytthe, Kirsten Ohm Kyvik, Vibeke Backer, Hans Bisgaard

56 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Aim: To examine the relationship between birth weight and risk of asthma in a population of twins. Methods: Birth weight of all live twins (8280 pairs) born in Denmark between 1994 and 2000 was linked to information on asthma obtained from parentecompleted questionnaires at age 3-9 years. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate the risk of asthma. Results: Subjects with a history of asthma at age 3-9 years weighed on average 122 g (95% CI 85 to 160) less at birth than subjects who had not developed asthma, p<0.001. There was a linear increase in asthma risk with decreasing birth weight, OR (per 100 g) 1.04 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.05), p<0.001. Within twin pairs, the lower birthweight twin had a significantly increased risk of asthma compared with the heavier coetwin (11.3% vs 9.9%), OR 1.30 (95% CI 1.10 to 1.54), p=0.002. The result remained significant after adjusting for sex, birth length and Apgar score, OR 1.31 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.65), p=0.027. The risk tended to be higher in monozygotic coetwins compared with dizygotic coetwins, especially for high birth weight differences. Conclusions: Low birth weight is a risk factor for asthma independently of gestational age, sex, birth length and Apgar score, but this may be due, in part, to residual nonegenetic confounding factors. This finding lends support to the "fetal origins hypothesis" suggesting undisclosed prenatal determinants for the risk of asthma.

Original language	English
Journal	Thorax
Volume	65
Issue number	2
Pages (from-to)	146-9
Number of pages	4
ISSN	0040-6376
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1136/thx.2009.117101
Publication status	Published - 1 Feb 2010

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@article{443a36de5a704a0cbcdbd536d2ab42e1,

title = "Birth weight and risk of asthma in 3-9-year-old twins: exploring the fetal origins hypothesis",

abstract = "Aim: To examine the relationship between birth weight and risk of asthma in a population of twins. Methods: Birth weight of all live twins (8280 pairs) born in Denmark between 1994 and 2000 was linked to information on asthma obtained from parentecompleted questionnaires at age 3-9 years. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate the risk of asthma. Results: Subjects with a history of asthma at age 3-9 years weighed on average 122 g (95% CI 85 to 160) less at birth than subjects who had not developed asthma, p<0.001. There was a linear increase in asthma risk with decreasing birth weight, OR (per 100 g) 1.04 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.05), p<0.001. Within twin pairs, the lower birthweight twin had a significantly increased risk of asthma compared with the heavier coetwin (11.3% vs 9.9%), OR 1.30 (95% CI 1.10 to 1.54), p=0.002. The result remained significant after adjusting for sex, birth length and Apgar score, OR 1.31 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.65), p=0.027. The risk tended to be higher in monozygotic coetwins compared with dizygotic coetwins, especially for high birth weight differences. Conclusions: Low birth weight is a risk factor for asthma independently of gestational age, sex, birth length and Apgar score, but this may be due, in part, to residual nonegenetic confounding factors. This finding lends support to the {"}fetal origins hypothesis{"} suggesting undisclosed prenatal determinants for the risk of asthma.",

author = "Karin Kindlund and Thomsen, {Simon Francis} and Stensballe, {Lone Graff} and Axel Skytthe and Kyvik, {Kirsten Ohm} and Vibeke Backer and Hans Bisgaard",

year = "2010",

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doi = "http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/thx.2009.117101",

language = "English",

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pages = "146--9",

journal = "Thorax",

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T1 - Birth weight and risk of asthma in 3-9-year-old twins: exploring the fetal origins hypothesis

AU - Kindlund, Karin

AU - Thomsen, Simon Francis

AU - Stensballe, Lone Graff

AU - Skytthe, Axel

AU - Kyvik, Kirsten Ohm

AU - Backer, Vibeke

AU - Bisgaard, Hans

PY - 2010/2/1

Y1 - 2010/2/1

N2 - Aim: To examine the relationship between birth weight and risk of asthma in a population of twins. Methods: Birth weight of all live twins (8280 pairs) born in Denmark between 1994 and 2000 was linked to information on asthma obtained from parentecompleted questionnaires at age 3-9 years. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate the risk of asthma. Results: Subjects with a history of asthma at age 3-9 years weighed on average 122 g (95% CI 85 to 160) less at birth than subjects who had not developed asthma, p<0.001. There was a linear increase in asthma risk with decreasing birth weight, OR (per 100 g) 1.04 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.05), p<0.001. Within twin pairs, the lower birthweight twin had a significantly increased risk of asthma compared with the heavier coetwin (11.3% vs 9.9%), OR 1.30 (95% CI 1.10 to 1.54), p=0.002. The result remained significant after adjusting for sex, birth length and Apgar score, OR 1.31 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.65), p=0.027. The risk tended to be higher in monozygotic coetwins compared with dizygotic coetwins, especially for high birth weight differences. Conclusions: Low birth weight is a risk factor for asthma independently of gestational age, sex, birth length and Apgar score, but this may be due, in part, to residual nonegenetic confounding factors. This finding lends support to the "fetal origins hypothesis" suggesting undisclosed prenatal determinants for the risk of asthma.

AB - Aim: To examine the relationship between birth weight and risk of asthma in a population of twins. Methods: Birth weight of all live twins (8280 pairs) born in Denmark between 1994 and 2000 was linked to information on asthma obtained from parentecompleted questionnaires at age 3-9 years. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate the risk of asthma. Results: Subjects with a history of asthma at age 3-9 years weighed on average 122 g (95% CI 85 to 160) less at birth than subjects who had not developed asthma, p<0.001. There was a linear increase in asthma risk with decreasing birth weight, OR (per 100 g) 1.04 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.05), p<0.001. Within twin pairs, the lower birthweight twin had a significantly increased risk of asthma compared with the heavier coetwin (11.3% vs 9.9%), OR 1.30 (95% CI 1.10 to 1.54), p=0.002. The result remained significant after adjusting for sex, birth length and Apgar score, OR 1.31 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.65), p=0.027. The risk tended to be higher in monozygotic coetwins compared with dizygotic coetwins, especially for high birth weight differences. Conclusions: Low birth weight is a risk factor for asthma independently of gestational age, sex, birth length and Apgar score, but this may be due, in part, to residual nonegenetic confounding factors. This finding lends support to the "fetal origins hypothesis" suggesting undisclosed prenatal determinants for the risk of asthma.

U2 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/thx.2009.117101

DO - http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/thx.2009.117101

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0040-6376

VL - 65

SP - 146

EP - 149

JO - Thorax

JF - Thorax

IS - 2

ER -

Birth weight and risk of asthma in 3-9-year-old twins: exploring the fetal origins hypothesis

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