148: Maternal bronchial asthma and long-term non-respiratory morbidity of the offspring

Objective
Several studies have suggested that maternal bronchial asthma may increase the risk for childhood respiratory morbidity. The current study was aimed to evaluate whether maternal bronchial asthma poses a risk for long-term non-respiratory morbidity of the offspring.
Study Design
A population-based cohort study compared the incidence of long-term pediatric hospitalizations due to hematologic, neurological, urinary, endocrine and cardiovascular disease of the offspring of mothers with and without bronchial asthma. Deliveries occurred between the years 1991-2014 in a regional tertiary medical center. Congenital malformations as well as multiple pregnancies were excluded. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to estimate cumulative incidence of non-respiratory morbidity. A multivariate generalized estimating equation (GEE) logistic regression model analysis was used to control for confounders and for maternal clusters.

Results
During the study period 256,299 deliveries met the inclusion criteria; of which 1.3% of offspring were born to mothers with bronchial asthma (n=3,449). During the follow-up period, children born to women with bronchial asthma had significantly higher rates of long-term hematologic, neurological and urinary morbidity (table). Children born to women with asthma had higher cumulative incidence of hematologic, neurological and urinary morbidity morbidity (Kaplan-Meier survival curves; figure). Using multivariable GEE logistic regression models, controlling for maternal age, gestational age at delivery and time to event, maternal bronchial asthma was found as an independent risk factor for long-term hematologic, neurological and urinary disease of the offspring, while no associations were found with cardiovascular and endocrine morbidity (table).
Conclusion
Maternal bronchial asthma is an independent risk factor for long-term hematologic, neurological and urinary morbidity of the offspring.