Association of the Risk of Childhood Asthma at Age 6 With Maternal Allergic or Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to assess the associations of the risk of asthma diagnosed in children aged 6 years or younger and having maternal immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs), including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), systemic sclerosis (SSc), inflammatory myositis, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Sjögren's syndrome (SS), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and autoimmune thyroiditis.Methods: A total of 628,878 singleton newborns documented in 2006–2009 and followed up for at least 6 years were identified. Overall, 153,085 (24.3%) children developed asthma at the age of ≤ 6 years. Two groups of maternal ages, i.e., <35 and ≥35 years, were evaluated. The associations of the risk of asthma occurring in children who were 6 years old or younger and had maternal IMIDs were examined.Results: The risk of asthma increased in children whose mothers had SLE [odds ratio (OR), 1.13; 95% confidence intervals (CI), 1.00–1.27; p = 0.04), RA (OR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.07–1.38; p = 0.003), inflammatory myositis (OR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.12–1.74; p = 0.003), asthma (OR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.52–1.63), allergic rhinitis (OR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.28–1.32), or atopic dermatitis (OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.02–1.12). Conversely, this increased risk was not observed in children whose mothers had AS (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.87–1.20), SS (OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.86–1.07), SSc (OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 0.77–2.14), or autoimmune thyroiditis (OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.95–1.07). Other risk factors of childhood asthma included high urbanization level, preterm birth, and low birth weight.Conclusion: The risk of childhood asthma at 6 years of age increased in children whose mothers suffered from SLE, RA, inflammatory myositis, asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis.

Association between disease activity of rheumatoid arthritis and maternal and fetal outcomes in pregnant women: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Therefore, the status of maternal immune system was linked to childhood asthma. Yang et al reported an elevated chance of asthma in children born to mothers with maternal RA [ 41 ], which was consistent with our analysis.…”