Body Weight at Birth and at Age Three and Respiratory Illness in Preschool Children.

Jeong, Yoolwon; Jung-Choi, Kyunghee; Lee, Jin Hwa; Lee, Hwa Young; Park, Eun Ae; Kim, Young Ju; Ha, Eunhee; Oh, Se Young; Park, Hyesook

doi:2010.43.5.369

J Prev Med Public Health > Volume 43(5); 2010 > Article

Comparative Study

Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health 2010;43(5): 369-376. doi: https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.2010.43.5.369

Body Weight at Birth and at Age Three and Respiratory Illness in Preschool Children.

Yoolwon Jeong, Kyunghee Jung-Choi, Jin Hwa Lee, Hwa Young Lee, Eun Ae Park, Young Ju Kim, Eunhee Ha, Se Young Oh, Hyesook Park

¹Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Korea. hpark@ewha.ac.kr
²Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Korea.
³Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Korea.
⁴Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Korea.
⁵Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, School of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Korea.
⁶Department of Food & Nutrition, College of Human Ecology, Kyung Hee University, Korea.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine the associations of current body weight and body mass index (BMI) at age three and birth weight in developing chronic respiratory illness in childhood and identify possible interaction underlying its mechanism. METHODS: The study was carried out with 422 children who were enrolled in a hospital-based birth cohort. Birth related anthropometric data were collected at birth. At age 3 years, the presence of respiratory symptoms was evaluated by using the Korean version of core questionnaire for wheezing and asthma from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). Physical examination was carried out to measure the child's weight and height. RESULTS: Children in the lowest birth weight tertile (aOR = 3.97, 95% CI = 0.94-16.68) or highest BMI tertile (aOR = 3.68, 95% CI = 1.24-10.95) at three years of age were at an increased risk of chronic respiratory illness. Children who were initially in the lowest birth weight tertile but now belong in the highest weight tertile had higher risk of chronic respiratory illness compared to those who had remained in the middle tertile (OR=16.35, 95% CI=1.66-160.57). CONCLUSIONS: Children with lower birth weight or higher BMI were at an increased risk of chronic respiratory illness. In addition, children who were initially in the lowest birth weight tertile but are now in the highest weight tertile had higher risk of chronic respiratory illness compared to those who remained in the middle tertile.

Key words: Birth weight; Obesity; Body weight changes; Preschool child; Respiratory signs and symptoms