Relationship between parental lung function and their children’s lung function early in life

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between parental lung function and their children's lung function measured early in life. Infants were participants in the Wheezing Illnesses Study Leidsche Rijn (WHISTLER). Lung function was measured before the age of 2 months using the single occlusion technique. Parental data on lung function (spirometry), medical history and environmental factors were obtained from the linked database of the Utrecht Health Project. Parental data on pulmonary function and covariates were available in 546 infants. Univariate linear regression analysis demonstrated a significant positive relationship between the infant's respiratory compliance and parental forced expiratory flow at 25-75% of forced vital capacity (FEF(25-75%))(,) forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1)) and forced vital capacity. A significant negative relationship was found between the infant's respiratory resistance and parental FEF(25-75%)and FEV(1). No significant relationship was found between the infant's respiratory time constant and parental lung function. Adjusting for body size partially reduced the significance of the observed relationship; adjusting for shared environmental factors did not change the observed results. Parental lung function levels are predictors of the respiratory mechanics of their newborn infants, which can only partially be explained by familial aggregation of body size. This suggests genetic mechanisms in familial aggregation of lung function, which are already detectable early in life.