Background: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a risk factor for respiratory disease in adulthood. Despite the differences in underlying pathology, patients with a history of BPD are often treated as asthmatics. We hypothesized that pulmonary outcomes and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) were different in adults born preterm with and without a history of BPD compared to asthmatics and healthy individuals.
Methods: We evaluated 96 young adults from the LUNAPRE cohort ( clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02923648 ), including 26 individuals born preterm with a history of BPD (BPD), 23 born preterm without BPD (preterm), 23 asthmatics and 24 healthy controls. Extensive lung function testing and HRQoL were assessed.
Results: The BPD group had more severe airway obstruction compared to the preterm-, (FEV1- 0.94 vs. 0.28 z-scores; p ≤ 0.001); asthmatic- (0.14 z-scores, p ≤ 0.01) and healthy groups (0.78 z-scores, p ≤ 0.001). Further, they had increased ventilation inhomogeneity compared to the preterm- (LCI 6.97 vs. 6.73, p ≤ 0.05), asthmatic- (6.75, p = 0.05) and healthy groups (6.50 p ≤ 0.001). Both preterm groups had lower DLCO compared to healthy controls (p ≤ 0.001 for both). HRQoL showed less physical but more psychological symptoms in the BPD group compared to asthmatics.
Conclusions: Lung function impairment and HRQoL in adults with a history of BPD differed from that in asthmatics highlighting the need for objective assessment of lung health.
Keywords: Adults; Astma; Bronchopulmonary dysplasia; HRLQoL; Lung function tests; Multiple breath washout; Oscillometry; Spirometry.