Maternal and early childhood factors associated with asthma and obesity in children aged 6 to 7 years: a case control study.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the maternal and early childhood factors associated with asthma and obesity in children aged 6 to 7 years.

METHODS

A case-control study conducted with children aged 6 to 7 years. Applications with questions about asthma symptoms in the last 12 months, maternal and childhood data in the first 2 years of life, and anthropometric data were collected. Children who presented asthma symptoms were considered as cases and those without asthma symptoms were considered as controls, later divided into two subgroups that were eutrophic or overweight/obesity. Logistic regression was performed to estimate the association between asthma symptoms (adequate weight and overweight/obesity) and gestational and personal factors, calculating odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (95%CI). Values of p<0.05 were considered significant.

RESULTS

Two hundred and one children were evaluated, 25.4% had asthma symptoms, 37.2% of them were overweight/obesity. Waist circumference, triceps skinfold, and body mass index were higher in the group with overweight/obesity asthma symptoms compared to no asthma symptoms (p<0.05). Factors significantly associated with asthma and overweight/obesity symptoms included: the maternal history of asthma (odds ratio of 3.73; 95%CI: 1.10-12.6) and hypertension during pregnancy (odds ratio of 3.29; 95%CI: 1.08-9.94).

CONCLUSION

Maternal history of asthma and hypertension during pregnancy increased the chances of children, at 6 and 7 years of age, having symptoms of asthma and obesity.