Childhood respiratory risk profiles associate with lung function and COPD among the old population

Background Childhood, often characterized by multiple concurrent risk factors, holds significant influence over long-term respiratory outcomes, with the intricate interplay among these factors representing an intriguing but underexplored avenue for research. We aimed to determine if respiratory risk...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chenyuan Qin, Jian Gao, Xingang Sang, Min Liu, Jue Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Annals of Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/07853890.2025.2470954
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849689358804713472
author Chenyuan Qin
Jian Gao
Xingang Sang
Min Liu
Jue Liu
author_facet Chenyuan Qin
Jian Gao
Xingang Sang
Min Liu
Jue Liu
author_sort Chenyuan Qin
collection DOAJ
description Background Childhood, often characterized by multiple concurrent risk factors, holds significant influence over long-term respiratory outcomes, with the intricate interplay among these factors representing an intriguing but underexplored avenue for research. We aimed to determine if respiratory risk factors during childhood affect lung function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in old age.Methods Participants were drawn from the Health and Retirement Study cohort. Latent class analysis (LCA) was applied with six variables used to develop the early-life respiratory risk profiles. Linear regressions and logistic regressions were used to assess the associations between childhood respiratory risk profiles and lung function, including peak expiratory flow (PEF) value, PEF value <80% of the predicted value and COPD.Results A total of 12,296 participants (5017 males and 7279 females) with an average age of 68 years were recruited. We identified six distinct childhood respiratory risk profiles: (1) ‘Asthma and respiratory disorders in early childhood’ (n = 241, 1.96%), (2) ‘Unexposed or least exposed’ (n = 3874, 31.51%), (3) ‘Smokers at home’ (n = 7609, 61.88%), (4) ‘Ear problems and respiratory disorders in early childhood’ (n = 162, 1.32%), (5) ‘Allergic conditions and respiratory disorders in early childhood’ (n = 220, 1.79%) and (6) ‘Allergic conditions and respiratory disorders in later childhood’ (n = 190, 1.55%). Profile 2 served as the reference. The highest reduction of PEF was seen for profile 1 (–30.07 L/min), followed by profile 6 (–22.24 L/min) and profile 5 (–18.47 L/min). Profile 6, profile 3 and profile 1 related to 1.98-, 1.52- and 1.66-fold increased risks of diminished PEF values, respectively. The highest risk of COPD was observed in profile 5 (aOR = 4.16, 95% CI: 3.75–4.57), followed by profile 6 (aOR = 4.10, 3.69–4.51), profile 4 (aOR = 3.70, 3.25–4.15), profile 1 (aOR = 3.46, 3.07–3.85) and profile 3 (aOR = 1.41, 1.25–1.57).Conclusions People exposed to early-life respiratory challenges experienced larger declines in lung function and increased risks of COPD later in life. Our findings underscore the importance of early-life respiratory health in shaping lung function trajectories.
format Article
id doaj-art-8a20a36a56d046d9a4f97e7bd3b2bc3f
institution DOAJ
issn 0785-3890
1365-2060
language English
publishDate 2025-12-01
publisher Taylor & Francis Group
record_format Article
series Annals of Medicine
spelling doaj-art-8a20a36a56d046d9a4f97e7bd3b2bc3f2025-08-20T03:21:39ZengTaylor & Francis GroupAnnals of Medicine0785-38901365-20602025-12-0157110.1080/07853890.2025.2470954Childhood respiratory risk profiles associate with lung function and COPD among the old populationChenyuan Qin0Jian Gao1Xingang Sang2Min Liu3Jue Liu4School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, ChinaPediatric Internal Medicine Department, Weifang Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Weifang, ChinaRecruitment Office, Weifang Municipal Health Commission, Weifang, Shandong, ChinaSchool of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, ChinaSchool of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, ChinaBackground Childhood, often characterized by multiple concurrent risk factors, holds significant influence over long-term respiratory outcomes, with the intricate interplay among these factors representing an intriguing but underexplored avenue for research. We aimed to determine if respiratory risk factors during childhood affect lung function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in old age.Methods Participants were drawn from the Health and Retirement Study cohort. Latent class analysis (LCA) was applied with six variables used to develop the early-life respiratory risk profiles. Linear regressions and logistic regressions were used to assess the associations between childhood respiratory risk profiles and lung function, including peak expiratory flow (PEF) value, PEF value <80% of the predicted value and COPD.Results A total of 12,296 participants (5017 males and 7279 females) with an average age of 68 years were recruited. We identified six distinct childhood respiratory risk profiles: (1) ‘Asthma and respiratory disorders in early childhood’ (n = 241, 1.96%), (2) ‘Unexposed or least exposed’ (n = 3874, 31.51%), (3) ‘Smokers at home’ (n = 7609, 61.88%), (4) ‘Ear problems and respiratory disorders in early childhood’ (n = 162, 1.32%), (5) ‘Allergic conditions and respiratory disorders in early childhood’ (n = 220, 1.79%) and (6) ‘Allergic conditions and respiratory disorders in later childhood’ (n = 190, 1.55%). Profile 2 served as the reference. The highest reduction of PEF was seen for profile 1 (–30.07 L/min), followed by profile 6 (–22.24 L/min) and profile 5 (–18.47 L/min). Profile 6, profile 3 and profile 1 related to 1.98-, 1.52- and 1.66-fold increased risks of diminished PEF values, respectively. The highest risk of COPD was observed in profile 5 (aOR = 4.16, 95% CI: 3.75–4.57), followed by profile 6 (aOR = 4.10, 3.69–4.51), profile 4 (aOR = 3.70, 3.25–4.15), profile 1 (aOR = 3.46, 3.07–3.85) and profile 3 (aOR = 1.41, 1.25–1.57).Conclusions People exposed to early-life respiratory challenges experienced larger declines in lung function and increased risks of COPD later in life. Our findings underscore the importance of early-life respiratory health in shaping lung function trajectories.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/07853890.2025.2470954Respiratory risklung functionlatent class analysispeak expiratory flowCOPDold people
spellingShingle Chenyuan Qin
Jian Gao
Xingang Sang
Min Liu
Jue Liu
Childhood respiratory risk profiles associate with lung function and COPD among the old population
Annals of Medicine
Respiratory risk
lung function
latent class analysis
peak expiratory flow
COPD
old people
title Childhood respiratory risk profiles associate with lung function and COPD among the old population
title_full Childhood respiratory risk profiles associate with lung function and COPD among the old population
title_fullStr Childhood respiratory risk profiles associate with lung function and COPD among the old population
title_full_unstemmed Childhood respiratory risk profiles associate with lung function and COPD among the old population
title_short Childhood respiratory risk profiles associate with lung function and COPD among the old population
title_sort childhood respiratory risk profiles associate with lung function and copd among the old population
topic Respiratory risk
lung function
latent class analysis
peak expiratory flow
COPD
old people
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/07853890.2025.2470954
work_keys_str_mv AT chenyuanqin childhoodrespiratoryriskprofilesassociatewithlungfunctionandcopdamongtheoldpopulation
AT jiangao childhoodrespiratoryriskprofilesassociatewithlungfunctionandcopdamongtheoldpopulation
AT xingangsang childhoodrespiratoryriskprofilesassociatewithlungfunctionandcopdamongtheoldpopulation
AT minliu childhoodrespiratoryriskprofilesassociatewithlungfunctionandcopdamongtheoldpopulation
AT jueliu childhoodrespiratoryriskprofilesassociatewithlungfunctionandcopdamongtheoldpopulation