Journal
JOURNAL OF ALLERGY AND CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY
Volume 123, Issue 4, Pages 847-853Publisher
MOSBY-ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2009.01.042
Keywords
Anxiety; pregnancy; prenatal programming; asthma; child
Categories
Funding
- UK Medical Research Council
- Wellcome Trust
- University of Bristol
- Asthma UK
- Economic and Social Research Council [ES/G007543/1] Funding Source: researchfish
- Medical Research Council [G9815508, G0401540] Funding Source: researchfish
- ESRC [ES/G007543/1] Funding Source: UKRI
- MRC [G0401540] Funding Source: UKRI
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Background: Maternal stress in early life has been associated with the development of asthma in children, although it is unclear whether there are any critical periods of exposure. The association of asthma with prenatal exposure to maternal stress has not been reported. Objective: We tested whether prenatal and postnatal anxiety and/or depression in pregnant women predicted the risk of their offspring developing asthma in childhood. Methods: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children is a population-based birth cohort recruited during pregnancy. Data were available on maternal anxiety scores and asthma at age 71/2 years in 5810 children. Anxiety was assessed at 18 and 32 weeks of gestation by using the validated Crown-Crisp Experiential Index. Asthma was defined at age 71/2 years as doctor-diagnosed asthma with current symptoms or treatment in the previous 12 months. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the association of prenatal anxiety with asthma (odds ratio; 95% CI). Results: Independent of postnatal anxiety and adjusted for a number of likely confounders, there was a higher likelihood of asthma at age 71/2 years (odds ratio, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.25-2.17) in children of mothers in the highest compared with lowest quartile of anxiety scores at 32 weeks of gestation, with evidence for a dose-response (P value for trend <0.001). Conclusions: Maternal anxiety symptoms as an indicator of stress during fetal life may program the development of asthma during childhood. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2009;123:847-853.)
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