Low birth weight linked to reduced lung function

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-10-06 03:00

Australia; NSW; VIC; TAS

Babies born with a low birth weight may have reduced lung function compared with babies born at a normal weight, according to Aussie researchers. The team used data from 849 people in a Tasmanian Longitudinal Health Study who had both known birth weight and lung function assessment at age 45. While there did seem to be a reduction in lung function, the team says this is probably simply the result of having smaller lungs, rather than evidence of functional impairment.

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Journal/
conference: Respirology

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: The University of Melbourne, University of Tasmania, The University of New South Wales, Monash University

Funder: This study was supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia under NHMRC project grant scheme (299901, 1021275) and NHMRC European collaborative grant scheme (1101313) as part of ALEC (Ageing Lungs in European Cohorts funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 633212); The University of Melbourne; Clifford Craig Medical Research Trust of Tasmania; The Victorian, Queensland & Tasmanian Asthma Foundations; The Royal Hobart Hospital; Helen MacPherson Smith Trust; and GlaxoSmithKline. The funding agencies had no direct role in the conduct of the study, the collection, management, statistical analysis and interpretation of the data, preparation or approval of the manuscript. Open access publishing facilitated by The University of Melbourne, as part of the Wiley - The University of Melbourne agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Michael Abramson received grants from Pfizer. Sanofi, GSK and Boehringer Ingelheim outside the submitted work. Other authors had not disclosed any conflicts of interest. Caroline Lodge, E. Haydn Walters, Adrian Lowe, Dinh Bui, Michael Abramson, Jennifer Perret ad Shyamali Dharmage hold an investigator-initiated grant from GlaxoSmithKline for unrelated research. Adrian Lowe has received non-financial support from Primus Pharmaceuticals for unrelated research.

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