The Association of Self-Reported Birthweight with Lung Function and Respiratory Diseases: Results from a Multi-Centre, Multi-Case Control Study in Italy

Ilaria Tocco Tussardi, Ahmad Tfaily, Francesca Locatelli, Leonardo Antonicelli, Salvatore Battaglia, Roberto Bono, Angelo G. Corsico, Nicola Murgia, Pietro Pirina, Marcello Ferrari, Stefano Tardivo, Deborah L. Jarvis and Giuseppe Verlato ()
Additional contact information
Ilaria Tocco Tussardi: Department of Diagnostics and Public Health, Section of Hygiene, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy
Ahmad Tfaily: Department of Diagnostics and Public Health, Section of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy
Francesca Locatelli: Department of Diagnostics and Public Health, Section of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy
Leonardo Antonicelli: Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital of Ancona, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Salvatore Battaglia: ‘ProMISE’ (Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties) Department, University of Palermo, 90133 Palermo, Italy
Roberto Bono: Department of Public Health and Paediatrics, University of Torino, 10124 Torino, Italy
Angelo G. Corsico: Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Therapy, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Nicola Murgia: Section of Occupational Medicine, Respiratory Diseases and Toxicology, University of Perugia, 06123 Perugia, Italy
Pietro Pirina: Department of Clinical, Surgical and Experimental Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Marcello Ferrari: Department of Respiratory Medicine, University of Verona, 37129 Verona, Italy
Stefano Tardivo: Department of Diagnostics and Public Health, Section of Hygiene, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy
Deborah L. Jarvis: National Heart and Lung Institute, Section of Genomic and Environmental Medicine, Imperial College London, London SW7 2BX, UK
Giuseppe Verlato: Department of Diagnostics and Public Health, Section of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-13

Abstract: Early life conditions are associated with lung function and the development of respiratory and non-respiratory illnesses. The relationship with birthweight (BW), however, is conflicting. We examined associations of self-reported BW with lung function and the development of respiratory and also non-respiratory diseases within the GEIRD (Gene–Environment Interaction in Respiratory Diseases) project, an Italian multi-centre, multi-case control study involving cases of COPD, asthma, allergic rhinitis and controls. Multinomial logistic regression was performed with case/control status as response variable; BW as main determinant; and adjusting for sex, age and smoking status. Of the 2287 participants reporting BW, 6.4% (n = 147) had low BW (<2500 g), and this proportion was greater in women than men (7.8% vs. 5.1%; p = 0.006). Both men and women with low BW were shorter than those with normal BW (mean ± SD: 160.2 ± 5.5 vs. 162.6 ± 6.5 cm in women, p = 0.009; 172.4 ± 6.1 vs. 174.8 ± 7.2 cm in men, p < 0.001). Although FEV1 and FVC were reduced in individuals with low BW, this was explained by associations with sex and height. In multivariable analysis, BW was not associated with respiratory diseases in adulthood. However, those with low BW had a higher risk of self-reported hospitalisation for lung disease before the age of two (10.3% vs. 4.1%; p < 0.001), severe respiratory infection before the age of five (16.9% vs. 8.8%; p = 0.001) and hypertension in adulthood (29.9% vs. 23.7%; p = 0.001); however, they had a lower risk of arrhythmia (2.7% vs. 5.8%; p = 0.027).

Keywords: adult health; birthweight; early life; lung volumes; respiratory diseases; respiratory health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/22/15062/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/22/15062/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:22:p:15062-:d:973922

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().