Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Volume 158, Number 1, July 1998, 176-181

Parental History and the Risk for Childhood Asthma
Does Mother Confer More Risk than Father?

AUGUSTO A. LITONJUA, VINCENT J. CAREY, HARRIET A. BURGE, SCOTT T. WEISS, and DIANE R. GOLD

Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts

Although heredity plays a major role in asthma and in other allergic diseases, mechanisms underlying the inheritance of these disorders are poorly understood, as is the relative contribution of maternal and paternal conditions to risk of disease. We investigated doctor-diagnosed maternal and paternal asthma, eczema, and hay fever as cross-sectional predictors of childhood asthma and allergic disease in 306 children with a median age of 3.5 yr from families in which at least one parent had a history of either asthma or other allergic conditions. For both childhood asthma and eczema, the strongest parental predictors were the same conditions in the parents. For asthma in particular, maternal asthma was most strongly associated with asthma in the child over all ages in both univariate (OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 1.5 to 6.7) and multivariable (OR = 4.1, 95% CI = 1.7 to 10.1) models. Paternal asthma was weakly associated with childhood asthma in the univariate model (OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 0.6 to 3.2), but this association increased in magnitude in the multivariable model (OR = 2.7, 95% CI = 1.0 to 7.2). Among the children < 5 yr of age, the risk for childhood asthma associated with maternal asthma (OR = 5.0, 95% CI = 1.7 to 14.9) was greater than the risk associated with paternal asthma (OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 0.5 to 5.9), whereas both maternal asthma and paternal asthma were associated with similar risks among children  5 yr of age (OR = 4.6, 95% CI = 1.1 to 19.0 and OR = 4.1, 95% CI = 1.0 to 16.0, respectively). The odds of having a child with asthma were three times greater in families with one asthmatic parent and six times greater in families with two asthmatic parents than in families where only one parent had inhalant allergy without asthma; furthermore, inhalant allergy in one parent also conferred additional risk in the presence of asthma in the other parent. Further investigation is needed into the relative importance of genetic factors and in utero and postnatal exposures in determining the differential effects of maternal and paternal asthma on the development of childhood asthma.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. O. Shaheen and I. M. Adcock The developmental origins of asthma: does epigenetics hold the key? Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., October 15, 2009; 180(8): 690 - 691. [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Aguilera-Aguirre, A. Bacsi, A. Saavedra-Molina, A. Kurosky, S. Sur, and I. Boldogh Mitochondrial Dysfunction Increases Allergic Airway Inflammation J. Immunol., October 15, 2009; 183(8): 5379 - 5387. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M-J. Martel, E. Rey, M-F. Beauchesne, J-L. Malo, S. Perreault, A. Forget, and L. Blais Control and severity of asthma during pregnancy are associated with asthma incidence in offspring: two-stage case-control study Eur. Respir. J., September 1, 2009; 34(3): 579 - 587. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C Roduit, S Scholtens, J C de Jongste, A H Wijga, J Gerritsen, D S Postma, B Brunekreef, M O Hoekstra, R Aalberse, and H A Smit Asthma at 8 years of age in children born by caesarean section Thorax, February 1, 2009; 64(2): 107 - 113. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M.-J. Martel, E. Rey, J.-L. Malo, S. Perreault, M.-F. Beauchesne, A. Forget, and L. Blais Determinants of the Incidence of Childhood Asthma: A Two-Stage Case-Control Study Am. J. Epidemiol., January 15, 2009; 169(2): 195 - 205. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S W Turner, L C A Craig, P J Harbour, S H Forbes, G McNeill, A Seaton, G Devereux, G Russell, and P J Helms Early rattles, purrs and whistles as predictors of later wheeze Arch. Dis. Child., August 1, 2008; 93(8): 701 - 704. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. L. Miller and S.-m. Ho Environmental Epigenetics and Asthma: Current Concepts and Call for Studies Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., March 15, 2008; 177(6): 567 - 573. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. A Litonjua, S. L Rifas-Shiman, N. P Ly, K. G Tantisira, J. W Rich-Edwards, C. A Camargo Jr, S. T Weiss, M. W Gillman, and D. R Gold Maternal antioxidant intake in pregnancy and wheezing illnesses in children at 2 y of age. Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, October 1, 2006; 84(4): 903 - 911. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Nepomnyaschy and N. E. Reichman Low Birthweight and Asthma Among Young Urban Children Am J Public Health, September 1, 2006; 96(9): 1604 - 1610. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Hamada, Y. Suzaki, A. Goldman, Y. Y. Ning, C. Goldsmith, A. Palecanda, B. Coull, C. Hubeau, and L. Kobzik Allergen-Independent Maternal Transmission of Asthma Susceptibility J. Immunol., February 15, 2003; 170(4): 1683 - 1689. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. C. Celedon, A. A. Litonjua, L. Ryan, S. T. Weiss, and D. R. Gold Bottle Feeding in the Bed or Crib Before Sleep Time and Wheezing in Early Childhood Pediatrics, December 1, 2002; 110(6): e77 - 77. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. M. Smiley-Jewell, M. U. Tran, A. J. Weir, Z. A. Johnson, L. S. Van Winkle, and C. G. Plopper Three-dimensional mapping of smooth muscle in the distal conducting airways of mouse, rabbit, and monkey J Appl Physiol, October 1, 2002; 93(4): 1506 - 1514. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. C. Celedon, A. A. Litonjua, L. Ryan, S. T. Weiss, and D. R. Gold Lack of Association between Antibiotic Use in the First Year of Life and Asthma, Allergic Rhinitis, or Eczema at Age 5 Years Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., July 1, 2002; 166(1): 72 - 75. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. D. Klinnert, M. R. Price, A. H. Liu, and J. L. Robinson Unraveling the Ecology of Risks for Early Childhood Asthma Among Ethnically Diverse Families in the Southwest Am J Public Health, May 1, 2002; 92(5): 792 - 798. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. C. Celedon, A. A. Litonjua, L. Ryan, S. T. Weiss, and D. R. Gold Day Care Attendance, Respiratory Tract Illnesses, Wheezing, Asthma, and Total Serum IgE Level in Early Childhood Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, March 1, 2002; 156(3): 241 - 245. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. von Mutius The Increase in Asthma Can Be Ascribed to Cleanliness Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., October 1, 2001; 164(7): 1106 - 1107. [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. D. Klinnert, H. S. Nelson, M. R. Price, A. D. Adinoff, D. Y. M. Leung, and D. A. Mrazek Onset and Persistence of Childhood Asthma: Predictors From Infancy Pediatrics, October 1, 2001; 108(4): e69 - 69. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K G Tantisira and S T Weiss Complex interactions in complex traits: obesity and asthma Thorax, September 1, 2001; 56(90002): ii64 - 74. [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. K. Lambert, P. D. Pare, and M. Okazawa Stiffness of peripheral airway folding membrane in rabbits J Appl Physiol, June 1, 2001; 90(6): 2041 - 2047. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. P. Lanphear, R. S. Kahn, O. Berger, P. Auinger, S. M. Bortnick, and R. W. Nahhas Contribution of Residential Exposures to Asthma in US Children and Adolescents Pediatrics, June 1, 2001; 107 (6): e98 - e98. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. P. Lanphear, C. A. Aligne, P. Auinger, M. Weitzman, and R. S. Byrd Residential Exposures Associated With Asthma in US Children Pediatrics, March 1, 2001; 107(3): 505 - 511. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				C. E Donovan and P. W Finn Immune mechanisms of childhood asthma Thorax, October 1, 1999; 54(10): 938 - 946. [Full Text]

				J. C. Celedon, A. A. Litonjua, S. T. Weiss, and D. R. Gold Day Care Attendance in the First Year of Life and Illnesses of the Upper and Lower Respiratory Tract in Children With a Familial History of Atopy Pediatrics, September 1, 1999; 104(3): 495 - 500. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. HALONEN, D. A. STERN, C. LOHMAN, A. L. WRIGHT, M. A. BROWN, and F. D. MARTINEZ Two Subphenotypes of Childhood Asthma That Differ in Maternal and Paternal Influences on Asthma Risk Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., August 1, 1999; 160(2): 564 - 570. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				D. R. GOLD, H. A. BURGE, V. CAREY, D. K. MILTON, T. PLATTS-MILLS, and S. T. WEISS Predictors of Repeated Wheeze in the First Year of Life . The Relative Roles of Cockroach, Birth Weight, Acute Lower Respiratory Illness, and Maternal Smoking Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., July 1, 1999; 160(1): 227 - 236. [Abstract] [Full Text]