Source: Annual Congress 2001 - Markers of obstructive lung disease

Abstract

Many Indigenous Australian communities are currently undergoing a demographic transition with reducing infant mortality and high rates of chronic respiratory disease. The role of early life nutrition and growth in adult cardiovascular and renal disease has been well described. Epidemiologic studies suggest a similar link with respiratory disease but little is known of the physiologic basis of this association. We reviewed an 18-20 y.o. Indigenous Australian birth cohort to determine if early life events predicted subsequent adult lung function and thus the degree of respiratory reserve. Respiratory function testing performed included DL_COSB, total lung capacity (TLC) and histamine challenge. TLC was shown to be independently related to both birthweight and rate of weight gain over the first year of life (see Table) with 71% of the variance in TLC being explained by this model. Whilst early life events may not directly lead to chronic respiratory disease it can be seen that they are associated with reduced lung size, less respiratory reserve and the likely earlier development of symptoms and death if respiratory disease intervenes.

TLC(l)	Coefficient	95% CI	p
Gender (female=1)	-1.141	-1.478,-8.020	0.000
Current weight (kg)	0.024	0.005,0.042	0.012
Birthweight (gm)	0.001	0.0002,0.0009	0.001
1st yr weight gain (gm/wk)	0.011	0.003,0.019	0.008

Rating:

Share or cite this content

Citations should be made in the following way:
G. P. Maguire, P. Morris, C. Tipiloura, B. J. Currie (Darwin, Australia). The influence of early life events on adult lung function: a mechanism to explain the high rates of chronic respiratory disease seen in populations undergoing a demographic transition. Eur Respir J 2001; 16: Suppl. 31, 3410

Member's Comments

No comment yet.

Related content which might interest you: Can the association of adult lung function with weight in early life be explained by early life factors? Source: International Congress 2014 – Emerging concepts in respiratory disease Year: 2014 COPD phenotypes and co-morbidities: to what extent do they affect a successful response to rehabilitation? Source: Research Seminar 2011 - Physical activity, nutritional status and systemic inflammation in COPD Year: 2011 The coexistence of asthma and COPD: risk factors, clinical history and lung function trajectories Source: Eur Respir J, 58 (5) 2004656; 10.1183/13993003.04656-2020 Year: 2021 Prevalence of abnormal lung function and age-dependent risk factors in the general population Source: International Congress 2019 – Lung function evaluation and prognosis of airway diseases Year: 2019 Combined impact of smoking and early life exposures on adult lung function Source: International Congress 2017 – Factors associated with lung function development Year: 2017 Biomarkers of lung cancer in a general population sample: distribution and relationship with risk factors for respiratory disorders Source: Eur Respir J 2003; 22: Suppl. 45, 485s Year: 2003 Does a predominant clinical COPD phenotype predict different outcome responses to pulmonary rehabilitation? Source: Annual Congress 2012 - The best posters in pulmonary rehabilitation and chronic care Year: 2012 Chronic respiratory symptoms but normal lung function: substantial disease burden but little evidence to inform practice Source: Eur Respir J, 54 (3) 1901363; 10.1183/13993003.01363-2019 Year: 2019 The effect of comprehensive pulmonary rehebilitation for anxiety and depression in patients with COPD: is there any difference between early and late stages of the disease? Source: Annual Congress 2009 - Pulmonary rehabilitation: extending the scope and benefit of rehabilitation for patients with chronic respiratory disease Year: 2009 Which functional alteration is mainly the cause in determining dyspnoeain COPD patients? Source: Eur Respir J 2004; 24: Suppl. 48, 288s Year: 2004 Perinatal predictors of respiratory symptoms and lung function at a young adult age Source: Eur Respir J 2002; 20: 383-390 Year: 2002 Is there an influence of certain risk factors on the early onset of persistent wheezing? Source: Eur Respir J 2005; 26: Suppl. 49, 163s Year: 2005 Factors affecting early adult lung function Source: International Congress 2019 – Tuberculosis epidemiology, bronchiectasis, other infections and spirometry Year: 2019 Risk factors and biomarkers of low lung function in early adulthood in the Lifelines study Source: Virtual Congress 2021 – Asthma burden and management I Year: 2021 Effects of lung development on pulmonary function tests: from early life to chronic respiratory disease Source: Virtual Congress 2020 – Chronic respiratory diseases and their origins in early life: how physiology meets clinical medicine Year: 2020 Subclinical structural or functional lung changes is associated with higher risk of developing lower respiratory tract infection in a tertiary RA cohort. Source: Virtual Congress 2021 – Exercise tolerance, supportive care and more in non-pulmonary fibrosis interstitial lung diseases Year: 2021 Evaluating the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with COPD in early and late disease stages. Source: Annual Congress 2008 - Impact of rehabilitation programmes in COPD and non-COPD patients Year: 2008 Impact and economic burden observed in asthma patients considered as mild: an analysis of the respiratory disease specific programme I Source: Annual Congress 2003 - Burden of asthma Year: 2003 The effect of exacerbation and physiological factors on health related quality of life in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Source: Annual Congress 2007 - Exacerbations of COPD Year: 2007