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S1 RELATIONSHIP OF ASTHMA, ATOPY AND ADIPOSITY IN PREPUBERTAL CHILDREN
1A Maitra, 2A Sherriff, 1AJ Henderson. 1University of Bristol, Bristol, UK, 2University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
Background: The prevalence of overweight and obesity in children has been increasing. Observational studies support a positive association between asthma and obesity, with a stronger effect in females. Longitudinal studies in adults have suggested that obesity precedes asthma. However, this has been challenged by observations in British school children. Methodological differences between studies have made it difficult to establish whether obesity is a primary cause or an intermediate variable in the development of asthma or atopy.
Objectives: Using repeated anthropometric measurements in early and mid-childhood, we investigated the associations of changes in body mass with asthma and atopy in a contemporary birth cohort of prepubertal children.
Methods and Study Population: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) is a longitudinal birth cohort study of children born between 1 April 1991 and 31 December 1992 in Avon, UK. Anthropometric data were obtained from measurements at 4 and 7 years of age. Body mass index (BMI) z-score was calculated relative to UK 1990 references and in a subsample, the timing of adiposity rebound was categorised as very early (<61 months), early (61 months) and late (>61 months). We defined a BMI changer as a subject crossing centiles in either direction by greater than 1.64 standard deviations between 4 and 7 years. Asthma was defined as doctor-diagnosed asthma with current symptoms at 91 months and atopy was defined as a positive response to skin prick tests performed at 7 years.
Results: A total of 14 541 women were enrolled during pregnancy, resulting in 14 062 live births. Approximately 8000 children attended the annual research clinics (∼58%). Data on centile crossing, atopy and patent ductus arteriosus were available on 4465 and …