@article {BertelsenP4764, author = {Randi J. Bertelsen and Cecilie Svanes and Marie Waatevik and Brynd{\'\i}s Benediktsd{\'o}ttir and Lennart Br{\r a}back and Shyamali Dharmage and Bertil Forsberg and Thorarinn Gislason and Christer Janson and Ane Johannessen and Mattias Holm and Rain Jogi and Eva Lindberg and Ferenc Macsali and Dan Norb{\"a}ck and Ernst Omenaas and Eirunn Waatevik Saure and Vivi Schlunssen and Trude Duelien Skorge and Hilde Kristin Vindenes and Francisco Gomez Real and Julia Dratva}, title = {Parental self-perceived body shape and offspring asthma}, volume = {44}, number = {Suppl 58}, elocation-id = {P4764}, year = {2014}, publisher = {European Respiratory Society}, abstract = {Background: Body composition, in particular obesity, has been associated with asthma. Less is known about parents{\textquoteright} body composition and asthma development in the child. We aimed to describe the association between parental self-perceived body shape at age 30 with asthma in the offspring.Method: In the Respiratory Health in Northern Europe (RHINE III) study conducted in 2012, the 35-67 year old index persons responded to a question that included nine body shapes varying from thin to obese, and chose the body shape resembling themselves at age 30. We used a multi-level random-effects regression model to estimate the odds for asthma in the offspring during the 10 first years of life by the parents{\textquoteright} self-perceived body shape at age 30. The model included 9,445 index persons and 21,810 offspring (0-51 years old). The analyses were stratified by parental gender and adjusted for parental history of asthma, educational level, smoking, and frequency of physical exercise, age of children and parents (at data collection), study center, and family clustering.Results: Compared to a normal body shape, the odds for asthma in the offspring was increased if the mothers had a thin [OR=1.62 (95\% CI: 1.01, 2.60)] or overweight/obese body shapes [OR= 1.80 (95\% CI: 1.18, 2.74)] at age 30. The odds ratio for asthma in the offspring was 1.52 (95\% CI: 0.97, 2.38) if the fathers reported overweight/obese body shapes at age 30.Conclusion: Both thin and obese self-perceived body shapes representing the parents{\textquoteright} reproductive age (30 years) were associated with early childhood asthma in the offspring. This could point to some underlying metabolic condition in the parents that may influence disease development in the offspring.}, issn = {0903-1936}, URL = {https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P4764}, eprint = {https://erj.ersjournals.com/content}, journal = {European Respiratory Journal} }