Asthmatic women are more likely to have asthmatic children if they were overweight before becoming pregnant.
Asthmatic women are more likely to have asthmatic children if they were overweight before becoming pregnant, and mothers who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have children who smoke, according to two studies presented at the annual meeting of the American Thoracic Society, held from May 15 to 20 in San Diego.
In the first study, Jet A. Smit, PhD, from the National Institute of Public Health and Environment in Bilthoven, Netherlands, and colleagues examined the association between maternal overweight before pregnancy (body mass index above 25 kg/m2) and the development of asthma in the offspring, using data from 3,963 children. At 8 years of age, they found that having an overweight mother increased the child's risk of having asthma (OR, 1.65, after adjusting for confounding factors), but only for children of asthmatic parents.
In the second study, Roni Grad, MD, and colleagues from the University of Arizona in Tucson examined the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and active smoking in their offspring, using data from 826 parent-offspring groupings. They found that offspring of mothers who smoked during pregnancy and stopped smoking during the toddler years were more likely to smoke at 22 years of age (OR, 4.1, after adjusting for confounding factors). The risk was approximately halved in mothers who smoked only after pregnancy and in mothers who smoked during pregnancy and continued to smoke.
Smit HA, Scholtens S, Wijga AH, et al. Maternal Overweight before Pregnancy and Asthma in Offspring Followed for 8 Years. Abstract 5389. http://www.call4abstracts.com/ats/society_admin/abs_preview.php?absnum=5389/.
Grad R, Stern DA, Wright AL, et al. Maternal Smoking during Pregnancy Is an Independent Risk Factor for Smoking in Their Offspring at Age 22. Abstract 19 http://www.call4abstracts.com/ats/society_admin/abs_preview.php?absnum=19/.
For more information on American Thoracic Society Meeting, link to http://www.thoracic.org/sections/meetings-and-courses/international-conference/2009/index.html.
PCOS status linked to menopause age onset
March 28th 2024A recent regression model analysis unveils a 5% prolonged period to menopause in women with polycystic ovary syndrome, prompting further investigation into the condition's impact on reproductive health and the need for diverse longitudinal studies.
Read More
Study: Plant-based diets lower hypertensive disorders of pregnancy risk
March 28th 2024A recent study suggests that adherence to plant-based diets significantly decreases the risk of developing hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, shedding light on dietary interventions for maternal health.
Read More