Weight gain in infancy and post-bronchiolitis wheezing

Aim: Low birth weight, high birth weight and excessive weight gain after birth may be risk factors for asthma in childhood, but their associations with wheezing in early childhood are poorly studied. The aim of the study was to evaluate birth weight, weight gain in early infancy and overweight in infancy assessed by weight for length (WFL) as risk factors for wheezing after hospitalization for bronchiolitis in early infancy.

Methods: In all, 127 full-term infants hospitalized for bronchiolitis at age <6 months have been followed up until the mean age of 1.5 years. The weights and lengths of the infants were measured on admission to hospital and at the control visit. Birth weights were obtained from the hospital records.

Results: Both occurrence and recurrence of post-bronchiolitis wheezing were associated with birth weight >4000 g and the recurrence of post-bronchiolitis wheezing with WFL >110% at age 1.5 years. The associations were robust to adjustments with gender and allergy. Higher weight gain from birth to hospitalization at age <6 months was associated with wheezing in the subgroup of children with birth weight >4000 g.

Conclusion: High birth weight and the development of overweight may be associated with post-bronchiolitis wheezing in infancy.