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Meta-Analysis
. 2016 Jan 26;11(1):e0145127.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0145127. eCollection 2016.

Early Life Origins of Lung Ageing: Early Life Exposures and Lung Function Decline in Adulthood in Two European Cohorts Aged 28-73 Years

Julia Dratva  1   2 , Elisabeth Zemp  1   2 , Shyamali C Dharmage  3 , Simone Accordini  4 , Luc Burdet  5 , Thorarinn Gislason  6 , Joachim Heinrich  7   8 , Christer Janson  9 , Deborah Jarvis  10 , Roberto de Marco  4 , Dan Norbäck  11 , Marco Pons  12 , Francisco Gómez Real  13   14 , Jordi Sunyer  15 , Simona Villani  16 , Nicole Probst-Hensch  1   2 , Cecilie Svanes  17   18
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Early Life Origins of Lung Ageing: Early Life Exposures and Lung Function Decline in Adulthood in Two European Cohorts Aged 28-73 Years

Julia Dratva et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objectives: Early life environment is essential for lung growth and maximally attained lung function. Whether early life exposures impact on lung function decline in adulthood, an indicator of lung ageing, has scarcely been studied.

Methods: Spirometry data from two time points (follow-up time 9-11 years) and information on early life exposures, health and life-style were available from 12862 persons aged 28-73 years participating in the European population-based cohorts SAPALDIA (n = 5705) and ECRHS (n = 7157). The associations of early life exposures with lung function (FEV1) decline were analysed using mixed-effects linear regression.

Results: Early life exposures were significantly associated with FEV1 decline, with estimates almost as large as personal smoking. FEV1 declined more rapidly among subjects born during the winter season (adjusted difference in FEV1/year of follow-up [95%CI] -2.04ml [-3.29;-0.80]), of older mothers, (-1.82 ml [-3.14;-0.49]) of smoking mothers (-1.82ml [-3.30;-0.34] or with younger siblings (-2.61ml [-3.85;-1.38]). Less rapid FEV1-decline was found in subjects who had attended daycare (3.98ml [2.78;5.18]), and indicated in subjects with pets in childhood (0.97ml [-0.16;2.09]). High maternal age and maternal smoking appeared to potentiate effects of personal smoking. The effects were independent of asthma at any age.

Conclusion: Early life factors predicted lung function decline decades later, suggesting that some mechanisms related lung ageing may be established early in life. Early life programming of susceptibility to adult insults could be a possible pathway that should be explored further.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Meta-analyses across European regions: selected early life factors and FEV1 decline.
ΔFEV1/yr. corresponds to change in FEV1 (ml) per year of follow-up—a negative coefficient implies more rapid FEV1 decline and a positive coefficient implies less rapid decline Meta-Analyses by European region, mutually adjusted for all other early life factors investigated and for sex, mid age, mid age square, mid BMI, change in BMI (between survey 1 and 2), height, lifetime pack years smoked, age at highest education, study area (random effect).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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