Chronic respiratory diseases and their origins in early life: how physiology meets clinical medicine
Symposium Chairs: A. Simonds (London, United Kingdom), A. Dinh-Xuan (Paris, France)
Aims: To determine the long-term effects of early life factors, such as intrauterine growth restriction, prenatal and postnatal exposure to tobacco smoke and other pollutants, preterm delivery and childhood respiratory illnesses, on the subsequent development of chronic respiratory disease; to evaluate the effectiveness of appropriate preventive and management strategies in reducing the burden of chronic pulmonary diseases; to describe improvements in antenatal and neonatal care that minimise risks to the developing lung and reduce prenatal and postnatal exposure to environmental pollutants, including passive tobacco smoke; to describe lung diseases potentially associated with early life insults; and to emphasise the importance of better education regarding diet, exercise and avoidance of smoking in preserving lung function in susceptible adults.