Abstract
Background: Preterm birth and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) are a risk factors for lung disease later in life. The mechanisms underlying development of chronic airway disease due to preterm birth is unknown.
Aim: We investigated measures of systemic inflammation in order to elucidate possible alterations in immune homeostasis in a well-defined group of adult patients with BPD.
Methods: Adults (age 18-23 years; 54% females and 46% males) born preterm with (n=21) and without (n=23) BPD, term born healthy controls (n=24) and patients with mild allergic asthma (n=22) from the LUNAPRE (Lung Obstruction in Adulthood of Prematurely Born, NCT02923648) cohort were studied. Serum-immunoglobulins (Ig)A, IgM, IgG, haptoglobin (Hp), C-reative protein (CRP), total leukocytes and differential counts were analysed.
Results: There was no difference in CRP and total leukocytes between the groups. Asthma patients had more serum eosinophils than the preterm groups with and without BPD (p=0.033 and p<0.001, respectively). The preterm subjects with and without BPD had lower serum IgA compared with healthy controls (p=0.001 and p=0.008, respectively). In preterm without BPD, IgA was negatively correlated with post-bronchodilator forced vital capacity (FVC) (p=0.017). Serum-Hp concentration was increased in BPD compared to preterm without BPD (p=0.009), but only in males.
Conclusions: Alterations in blood measures of systemic inflammation, including gender differences were observed in this cohort of adults born prematurely. Our results’ merits further investigations regarding the impact of systemic inflammation in relation to the development of chronic airway disease.
Footnotes
Cite this article as: European Respiratory Journal 2019; 54: Suppl. 63, PA4349.
This is an ERS International Congress abstract. No full-text version is available. Further material to accompany this abstract may be available at www.ers-education.org (ERS member access only).
- Copyright ©the authors 2019