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. 2008 Nov;12(6):725-33.
doi: 10.1007/s10995-007-0292-2. Epub 2007 Nov 7.

Maternal pre-pregnancy obesity and diagnosis of asthma in offspring at age 3 years

Nancy E Reichman  1 , Lenna Nepomnyaschy
Affiliations

Maternal pre-pregnancy obesity and diagnosis of asthma in offspring at age 3 years

Nancy E Reichman et al. Matern Child Health J. 2008 Nov.

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between maternal pre-pregnancy obesity and a diagnosis of asthma in offspring at age 3 years.

Methods: A population-based sample of children born in large U.S. cities in 1998-2000 was followed since birth (N=1971). The main outcome measure was whether the mother reported at 3 years that the child had ever been diagnosed with asthma. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between maternal pre-pregnancy obesity and child asthma diagnosis, as well as the extent to which the association can be explained by sociodemographic, medical, obstetric, and behavioral factors associated with both conditions.

Results: Children with obese mothers had 52% higher odds of having an asthma diagnosis by age 3 (OR=1.52; 95% CI: 1.18-1.93). Sociodemographic, medical, obstetric, and behavioral factors explained some, but not all, of the association.

Conclusions: Maternal pre-pregnancy obesity is associated with diagnosis of asthma in offspring at age 3 years. The results from this study are preliminary and need to be replicated and further explored, but are suggestive of a complex intergenerational linkage between obesity and asthma.

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