Fetal sex and maternal asthma control in pregnancy

J Asthma. 2008 Jun;45(5):403-7. doi: 10.1080/02770900801971826.

Abstract

Asthma is a prevalent chronic disorder that might substantially complicate pregnancy. Some recent reports suggest that the presence of a female fetus might be associated with worse maternal asthma symptoms during pregnancy. We tested this hypothesis using the sample of 719 pregnant women with asthma prospectively enrolled in the OTIS study. The presence of a female fetus was associated with a higher incidence of hospitalizations for asthma during pregnancy (OR = 1.84; 95% CI: 1.05; 3.21) independent of maternal age, BMI, ethnicity, smoking, and socioeconomic status. The current study suggests that pregnant asthmatic women carrying a girl might be more susceptible to asthma exacerbations.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Anti-Asthmatic Agents / therapeutic use
  • Asthma / drug therapy
  • Asthma / epidemiology*
  • Asthma / physiopathology
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Cohort Studies
  • Female
  • Fetus*
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Gestational Age
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Logistic Models
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Maternal Welfare
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Complications / diagnosis
  • Pregnancy Complications / drug therapy
  • Pregnancy Complications / epidemiology*
  • Pregnancy Outcome
  • Prenatal Care / methods
  • Prenatal Care / statistics & numerical data*
  • Risk Assessment
  • Sex Characteristics*
  • Sex Determination Analysis
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Anti-Asthmatic Agents