@article{HohmannPinartTischeretal.2014, author = {Hohmann, Cynthia and Pinart, Mariona and Tischer, Christina and Gehring, Ulrike and Heinrich, Joachim and Kull, Inger and Mel{\´e}n, Eric and Smit, Henriette A. and Torrent, Maties and Wijga, Alet H. and Wickman, Magnus and Bachert, Claus and L{\o}drup Carlsen, Karin C. and Carlsen, Kai-H{\aa}kon and Bindslev-Jensen, Carsten and Eller, Esben and Esplugues, Ana and Fantini, Maria Pia and Annesi-Maesano, Isabella and Momas, Isabelle and Porta, Daniela and Vassilaki, Maria and Waiblinger, Dagmar and Sunyer, Jordi and Ant{\´o}, Josep M. and Bousquet, Jean and Keil, Thomas}, title = {The Development of the MeDALL Core Questionnaires for a Harmonized Follow-Up Assessment of Eleven European Birth Cohorts on Asthma and Allergies}, series = {International Archives of Allergy and Immunology}, volume = {163}, journal = {International Archives of Allergy and Immunology}, number = {3}, organization = {The MeDALL Study Group}, issn = {1018-2438}, doi = {10.1159/000357732}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-196594}, pages = {215-224}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Background: Numerous birth cohorts have been initiated in the world over the past 30 years using heterogeneous methods to assess the incidence, course and risk factors of asthma and allergies. The aim of the present work is to provide the stepwise proceedings of the development and current version of the harmonized MeDALL-Core Questionnaire (MeDALL-CQ) used prospectively in 11 European birth cohorts. Methods: The harmonization of questions was accomplished in 4 steps: (i) collection of variables from 14 birth cohorts, (ii) consensus on questionnaire items, (iii) translation and back-translation of the harmonized English MeDALL-CQ into 8 other languages and (iv) implementation of the harmonized follow-up. Results: Three harmonized MeDALL-CQs (2 for parents of children aged 4-9 and 14-18, 1 for adolescents aged 14-18) were developed and used for a harmonized follow-up assessment of 11 European birth cohorts on asthma and allergies with over 13,000 children. Conclusions: The harmonized MeDALL follow-up produced more comparable data across different cohorts and countries in Europe and will offer the possibility to verify results of former cohort analyses. Thus, MeDALL can become the starting point to stringently plan, conduct and support future common asthma and allergy research initiatives in Europe.}, language = {en} } @article{SonnenscheinvanderVoortArendsdeJongsteetal.2014, author = {Sonnenschein-van der Voort, Agnes M. M. and Arends, Lidia R. and de Jongste, Johan C. and Annesi-Maesano, Isabella and Arshad, S. Hasan and Barros, Henrique and Basterrechea, Mikel and Bisgaard, Hans and Chatzi, Leda and Corpeleijn, Eva and Correia, Sofia and Craig, Leone C. and Devereux, Graham and Dogaru, Cristian and Dostal, Miroslav and Duchen, Karel and Eggesb{\o}, Merete and van der Ent, C. Kors and Fantini, Maria P. and Forastiere, Francesco and Frey, Urs and Gehring, Ulrike and Gori, Davide and van der Gugten, Anne C. and Hanke, Wojciech and Henderson, A. John and Heude, Barbara and I{\~n}iguez, Carmen and Inskip, Hazel M. and Keil, Thomas and Kelleher, Cecily C. and Kogevinas, Manolis and Kreiner-M{\o}ller, Eskil and Kuehni, Claudia E. and K{\"u}pers, Leanne K. and Lancz, Kinga and Larsen, Pernille S. and Lau, Susanne and Ludvigsson, Johnny and Mommers, Monique and Andersen, Anne-Marie Nybo and Palkovicova, Lubica and Pike, Katherine C. and Pizzi, Constanza and Polanska, Kinga and Porta, Daniela and Richiardi, Lorenzo and Roberts, Graham and Schmidt, Anne and Sram, Radim J. and Sunyer, Jordi and Thijs, Carel and Torrent, Maties and Viljoen, Karien and Wijga, Alet H. and Vrijheid, Martine and Jaddoe, Vincent W. V. and Duijts, Liesbeth}, title = {Preterm birth, infant weight gain, and childhood asthma risk: A meta-analysis of 147,000 European children}, series = {The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology}, volume = {133}, journal = {The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology}, number = {5}, doi = {10.1016/j.jaci.2013.12.1082}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-120714}, pages = {1317-29}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Background Preterm birth, low birth weight, and infant catch-up growth seem associated with an increased risk of respiratory diseases in later life, but individual studies showed conflicting results. Objectives We performed an individual participant data meta-analysis for 147,252 children of 31 birth cohort studies to determine the associations of birth and infant growth characteristics with the risks of preschool wheezing (1-4 years) and school-age asthma (5-10 years). Methods First, we performed an adjusted 1-stage random-effect meta-analysis to assess the combined associations of gestational age, birth weight, and infant weight gain with childhood asthma. Second, we performed an adjusted 2-stage random-effect meta-analysis to assess the associations of preterm birth (gestational age <37 weeks) and low birth weight (<2500 g) with childhood asthma outcomes. Results Younger gestational age at birth and higher infant weight gain were independently associated with higher risks of preschool wheezing and school-age asthma (P < .05). The inverse associations of birth weight with childhood asthma were explained by gestational age at birth. Compared with term-born children with normal infant weight gain, we observed the highest risks of school-age asthma in children born preterm with high infant weight gain (odds ratio [OR], 4.47; 95\% CI, 2.58-7.76). Preterm birth was positively associated with an increased risk of preschool wheezing (pooled odds ratio [pOR], 1.34; 95\% CI, 1.25-1.43) and school-age asthma (pOR, 1.40; 95\% CI, 1.18-1.67) independent of birth weight. Weaker effect estimates were observed for the associations of low birth weight adjusted for gestational age at birth with preschool wheezing (pOR, 1.10; 95\% CI, 1.00-1.21) and school-age asthma (pOR, 1.13; 95\% CI, 1.01-1.27). Conclusion Younger gestational age at birth and higher infant weight gain were associated with childhood asthma outcomes. The associations of lower birth weight with childhood asthma were largely explained by gestational age at birth."}, language = {en} }