Association between maternal ritodrine hydrochloride administration
during pregnancy and childhood wheezing up to three years of age: The
Japan Environment and Children’s Study
Abstract
Background: The effects of maternal ritodrine hydrochloride
administration (MRA) during pregnancy on fetuses and offspring are not
entirely clear. The present study aimed to evaluate the association
between MRA and childhood wheezing using data from a nationwide Japanese
birth cohort study. Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed data
from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study, a nationwide birth
cohort study, conducted between 2011 and 2014. Data of women with
singleton births after 22 weeks of gestation were analyzed. The
participants were divided according to MRA status. Considering childhood
factors affecting the incidence of wheezing, a logistic regression model
was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios for “wheezing ever,”
diagnosis of asthma in the last 12 months, and “asthma ever” in women
with MRA, with women who did not receive MRA as the reference.
Participants were stratified by term births, and adjusted odds ratios
for outcomes were calculated using a logistic regression model. Results:
A total of 68,123 participants were analyzed. The adjusted odds ratio
for wheezing ever was 1.17 (95% confidence interval, 1.12–1.22). The
adjusted odds ratios for the other outcomes did not significantly
increase after adjusting for childhood factors. The same tendency was
confirmed after excluding women with preterm births. Conclusion: MRA was
associated with an increased incidence of childhood wheezing up to three
years, irrespective of term births or preterm births. It is important
that perinatal physicians consider both the adverse maternal side
effects of MRA and its potential effects on the offspring’s childhood.