TY - JOUR T1 - Sleep quality as a confounding factor of maternal weight and preschool wheezing JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J SP - 1543 LP - 1545 DO - 10.1183/09031936.00224013 VL - 43 IS - 5 AU - Elisabeth T.M. Leermakers AU - Agnes M.M. Sonnenschein-van der Voort AU - Romy Gaillard AU - Albert Hofman AU - Johan C. de Jongste AU - Vincent W.V. Jaddoe AU - Liesbeth Duijts Y1 - 2014/05/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/43/5/1543.abstract N2 - From the authors:We kindly thank K.T. Nozoe and co-workers for their correspondence regarding our recently published article [1]. They suggested that the observed association of maternal body mass index (BMI) with childhood wheezing might be confounded by maternal sleeping problems during pregnancy. We appreciate this interesting suggestion.As K.T. Nozoe and co-workers mentioned, asthma is a very common chronic disease amongst children. Given its high prevalence and considerable impact on morbidity and healthcare costs, research focused on early risk factors for asthma is important. Identification of causal risk factors and their mechanisms in pregnancy or early childhood, may lead to the development of new preventive strategies focused on the early phase of life. K.T. Nozoe and co-workers suggested that maternal sleep quality during pregnancy could be an important risk factor for childhood asthma, and that maternal sleep problems might be involved in the pathways underlying the association between maternal obesity and the risk of wheezing in offspring. Because of this possible intermediate effect of sleep in the association between maternal BMI and the risk of wheezing in offspring, sleep problems should … ER -