Abstract
Background: Overweight has been associated with wheezing and asthma both in children and adults. It is debated whether overweight early in life predisposes for later wheeze or if the association is due to asthmatic children being less active. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between body mass index, BMI, and recurrent wheeze (≥ 3 episodes during the last 12 months) at preschool age.
Methods: Data were obtained from a prospective, longitudinal study of a cohort of children born in Western Sweden in 2003. 8176 families (50% of the birth cohort) were randomly selected. The parents answered questionnaires at 6 and 12 months and at 4.5 years of age. The response rate at 4.5 years was 4496, i.e. 83% of the 5398 questionnaires distributed at 4.5 years. Odds ratios were calculated with BMI as a continuous variable.
Results: In multivariate analyses, the risk of recurrent wheeze at preschool age was increased both by a higher BMI at age 12 months (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.03-1.4) and by a higher BMI at age 4 years (OR 1.2, 1.04-1.4).
Adjusting for recurrent wheeze during infancy or excluding children with recurrent wheeze during infancy had no major influence on the ORs.
In addition, recurrent wheeze in infancy did not increase the risk of overweight at 4 years.
The analyses controlled for preterm birth, smoking during pregnancy, family history of atopy, own allergic disease in infancy, parental education, short breast-feeding, small for gestational age, gender and maternal overweight before pregnancy.
Conclusion: A higher BMI at 12 months or at 4 years both increased the risk of recurrent wheeze at preschool age. Wheezing during infancy did not explain the associations seen.
- © 2012 ERS