PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - A.M.M. Sonnenschein-van der Voort AU - L.D. Howe AU - R. Granell AU - L. Duijts AU - J.A.C. Sterne AU - K. Tilling AU - A.J. Henderson TI - Influence of childhood growth on asthma and lung functioning in adolescence DP - 2013 Sep 01 TA - European Respiratory Journal PG - P1627 VI - 42 IP - Suppl 57 4099 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/P1627.short 4100 - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/42/Suppl_57/P1627.full SO - Eur Respir J2013 Sep 01; 42 AB - Background Low birth weight and rapid infant growth are associated with increased risks of childhood asthma but little is known about the role of growth in childhood with asthma.Aims To examine the associations of children’s growth patterns with asthma, bronchodilator responsiveness, and lung function in adolescence.Methods Individual growth trajectories from birth until 10 years were estimated using multilevel linear spline models and standard deviation (SD) scores were calculated among 7,882 children participating in a population-based prospective cohort study. Weight trajectories were adjusted for height. Current asthma at 14 and 17 years was based on questionnaires. Lung function (z-scores of FVC, FEV1, and FEV1/FVC (%)), and bronchodilator responsiveness were measured during clinic visits at age 15 years.Results Weight but not height gain during early childhood was associated with asthma at 14 and 17 years. Weight gain between 0-3 and 3-12 months was associated with salbutamol reversibility (Odds ratio (OR): 1.14 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.30), and 1.23 (1.07, 1.42) per SD increase in weight, respectively). We found little evidence of associations with height gain. Increased weight gain (per SD) between 3-7 years was the most strongly associated with higher FVC (0.16 (0.12, 0.20)) and FEV1 (0.19 (0.08, 0.16)), and reduced FEV1/FVC (-0.35 (-0.67, -0.04)). Height gain in all periods of childhood was consistently associated with lower FVC and tended to be associated with a lower FEV1 and FEV1/FVC.Conclusion Rapid weight gain in early childhood is associated with bronchodilator responsiveness and increased lung capacity in adolescence, while rapid height gain seems to be associated with smaller lungs.