Background: Early-term-born subjects, (37-38 weeks' gestation), form a large part of the population and have an increased risk of neonatal respiratory morbidity and childhood respiratory symptoms; there is a paucity of data on their later lung function. We sought to (1) compare lung function at 8-9 and 14-17 years in early-term-born children with full-term-born children (39-43 weeks' gestation); (2) assess the role of caesarean section delivery; and (3) compare respiratory symptoms and diagnosis of asthma.
Methods: Caucasian, singleton, term births from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (n = 14,062) who had lung spirometry at 8-9 (n = 5,465) and/or 14-17 (n = 3,666) years were classified as early or full term.
Results: At 8-9 years, standardized spirometry measures, although within the normal range, were lower in the early-term-born group, (n = 911), compared to full-term controls (n = 4,554). Delivery by caesarean section did not influence later spirometry, and the effect of early-term birth was not modified by delivery by caesarean section. At 14-17 years, the spirometry measures in the early-term group, (n = 602), were similar to the full-term group (3,064), and the rates of asthma and respiratory symptoms were also similar between the two gestation groups.
Conclusions: Early-term-born children had lower lung function values at 8-9 years compared to the full-term group, but were similar by 14-17 years of age. Delivery at early term should be avoided due to early and late morbidity. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2016;51:1212-1221. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Keywords: Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC); asthma; cohort study; lung physiology; pulmonary function tests.
© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.