Does a family history of atopy influence lung function at follow-up of infants born prematurely?

The aim of this study was to assess whether a family history of atopy influenced lung function at follow-up of infants born prematurely. Analysis was made of thoracic gas volume and airways resistance measurements performed at 1 year of age in 86 infants born at a median gestational age of 29 weeks. These measurements had been made during a prospective follow-up study. The 30 infants with a family history of atopy were found to have a higher airways resistance (median 35 cmH2O/l/s) than the 56 infants without such a family history (median 30 cmH2O/l/s) (p < 0.05). However, when the results from 18 infants with a family history of atopy were compared with 18 controls who were matched for requirement for neonatal ventilation, parental smoking and were within at least 1 week of gestational age, no significant difference in airways resistance was found between the two groups. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that gestational age and birth weight explained the apparent relationship between a family history of atopy and an elevated airways resistance at follow-up.