Published ahead of print on June 1, 2004, doi:10.1164/rccm.200311-1552OC Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Volume 170, Number 5, September 2004, 527-533 A more recent version of this article appeared on September 1, 2004
Submitted on November 26, 2003 Development of Lung Function in Early Life: Influence of Birthweight in Infants of Non-smokersAh-Fong Hoo1*,1 Portex Respiratory Unit, Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom; Neonatal Unit, Homerton University Hospital, London, United Kingdom, 2 Portex Respiratory Unit, Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom, 3 Centre for Paediatric Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom, 4 Neonatal Unit, Homerton University Hospital, London, United Kingdom * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: a.hoo{at}ich.ucl.ac.uk.
This study aimed to compare lung growth and development during the first year of life in healthy term infants of low or appropriate birthweight for gestation. Paired measurements of forced expired volume in 0.4 second, forced vital capacity and forced expired flow when 75% of forced vital capacity has been exhaled were obtained, using the raised volume technique, at ~7 weeks and 9 months of age in 80 infants (32 low and 48 appropriate birthweight for gestation) of white, non-smoking mothers. Forced flows and volumes increased with growth. Longitudinal trends in results were compared between the two groups using random effects modeling and adjusted for potential confounding factors. After adjustment for sex, age and length, forced expiratory volume was significantly reduced by an average (95% CI) of 9% (2%; 16%) in low birthweight compared to appropriate birthweight for gestation infants throughout the first year of life, with a similar trend in forced expired flow [8% (-2%, 17%)] and forced vital capacity [4% (-3%; 11%)]. These findings suggest that lung function is reduced in low birthweight for gestation infants born to non-smoking white mothers and that this is independent of somatic growth during infancy. Key words: infant, follow-up study, fetal growth retardation, forced expiratory volume, respiratory function tests
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