Birth weight and asthma in young adults of a Brazilian birth cohort.

Abstract

This article aims to evaluate the association between birth weight and asthma in adulthood, estimated by employing structural equation modeling. Cohort study with 1,958 participants aged 23-25 years from Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. Standardized questionnaires were applied and pulmonary function evaluated, including bronchial reactivity with methacholine. A theoretical model was proposed to explore the effects of birth weight and asthma in adulthood. Asthma, socioeconomic status at birth (Birth SES), and current socioeconomic status (Adult SES) were obtained by constructs. Maternal age, sex, skin color, body mass index (BMI), smoking, parental asthma history, history of respiratory infection before five years old, history of hospitalization for lung disease before two years old, and atopy were the studied variables. 14.1% of participants were diagnosed with asthma. Birth weight was associated with asthma (Standardized Coefficient - SCtotal=-0.110; p=0.030), and an indirect effect was also observed (SCindirect=-0.220; p=0.037), mediated by hospitalization before two years and respiratory infection before five years. Lower birth weight showed an increased risk of asthma in adulthood and the SES Birth and Adult SES variables underlie this association.