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Prenatal factors and use of anti-asthma medications in early childhood: A population-based Danish birth cohort study

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Abstract

To examine whether fetal growth indicators and other prenatal factors were associated with the use of anti-asthma medications during the first year of life, we conducted a follow-up study based on birth registry and prescription registry data of the county of North Jutland, Denmark. We identified 9705 singletons born between 1 April 1996 and 31 December 1997. They were followed to the end of the first year of life by linkage with a prescription registry. Prescription for asthma was defined as both a β-agonist and an inhaled glucocorticoid prescription. A prescription for asthma was presented to 3.8% of the infants during the first year of life. Maternal asthma, male gender, maternal smoking, multiparous births, young maternal age, and maternal non-cohabitation were associated with the risk of receiving a prescription for asthma. There were slightly increased trends in the risk with birth weight and placental weight. The increased risk was more pronounced in the groups of birth weight ≥3800 g (adjusted OR: 1.23, 95% CI: 0.88–1.73) and placental weight ≥750 g (adjusted OR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.10–1.88). The increased risk was also associated with a high ponderal index of ≥2.7 g/cm3 (adjusted OR: 1.37, 95% CI: 1.06–1.76).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Danish Epidemiology Science Centre, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark

    Wei Yuan, Jørn Olsen & Henrik Toft Sørensen

  2. Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research, Shanghai, P.R. China

    Wei Yuan

  3. Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark

    Kirsten Fonager

  4. Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital and Aalborg Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark

    Henrik Toft Sørensen

Authors
  1. Wei Yuan
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  2. Kirsten Fonager
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  3. Jørn Olsen
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  4. Henrik Toft Sørensen
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Yuan, W., Fonager, K., Olsen, J. et al. Prenatal factors and use of anti-asthma medications in early childhood: A population-based Danish birth cohort study. Eur J Epidemiol 18, 763–768 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025390420122

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025390420122

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