Ekström et al. 1
Maternal BMI in early pregnancy and offspring asthma, rhinitis and
eczema up to 16 years of age
Sandra Ekström, Jessica Magnusson, Inger Kull, Tomas Lind, Catarina Almqvist, Erik Melén
and Anna Bergström
Online supplement
Ekström et al. 2
Definition of health outcomes
Asthma:
At 1 year: at least three episodes of wheeze after 3 months of age in combination with
treatment with inhaled glucocorticosteroids and/or sign of suspected hyperreactivity without
concurrent upper respiratory infection.
At 2 years: at least three episodes of wheeze after 1 year of age in combination with treatment
with inhaled glucocorticosteroids and/or sign of suspected hyperreactivity without concurrent
upper respiratory infection.
At 4, 8, 12 and 16 years: at least four episodes of wheeze in the last 12 months or at least one
episode of wheeze during the same time period in combination with occasional or regular
treatment with inhaled glucocorticosteroids.
Rhinitis:
At 1 year: symptoms from eye/nose after exposure to furred pets and/or pollen and/or doctor’s
diagnosis of allergic rhinitis from the first 3 months of life.
At 2, 4 and 8 years: symptoms from eye/nose after exposure to furred pets and/or pollen
and/or doctor’s diagnosis of allergic rhinitis since the previous questionnaire.
At 12 years: symptoms from eye/nose after exposure to furred pets and/or pollen during the
latest 12 months and/or doctor’s diagnosis of allergic rhinitis from the age of 10 years.
At 16 years: symptoms from eye/nose after exposure to furred pets and/or pollen during the
latest 12 months and/or doctor’s diagnosis of allergic rhinitis from the age of 12 years.
Ekström et al. 3
Eczema:
At 1 year: dry skin, itchy rashes for ≥ two weeks at specific location (face or arms/legs
extension surfaces or arms/legs flexures or wrists/ankles flexures) of rash and/or doctor’s
diagnosis of eczema after 3 months of age.
At 2 years: dry skin, itchy rashes for ≥ two weeks at specific location (face or arms/legs
extension surfaces or arms/legs flexures or wrists/ankles flexures) of rash and/or doctor’s
diagnosis of eczema after 1 year of age.
At 4 years: dry skin, itchy rashes for ≥ two weeks during the last 12 months at specific
location (face or arms/legs extension surfaces or arms/legs flexures or wrists/ankles flexures)
of rash and/or doctor’s diagnosis of eczema after 2 year of age.
At 8 years: dry skin, itchy rashes for ≥ two weeks during the last 12 months at specific
location (face or arms/legs flexures or wrists/ankles or neck) of rash and/or doctor’s diagnosis
of eczema after 7 years of age.
At 12 years: dry skin, itchy rashes during the last 12 months at specific location (arms/legs
flexures or wrists/ankles or neck) of rash and/or doctor’s diagnosis of eczema after 10 years of
age.
At 16 years: dry skin, itchy rashes during the last 12 months at specific location (arms/legs
flexures or wrists/ankles or neck) of rash and/or doctor’s diagnosis of eczema after 12 years of
age.
Ekström et al. 4
Table E1. Distribution of selected exposure characteristics among children
in the total BAMSE cohort and among children included in the analyses.
Total cohort
Children included in
(N=4,089)
the analyses
(N=3,294)
mean
sd
mean
sd
30.7
4.5
30.7
4.5
Maternal age (yrs)
1
3535
552
3533
549
Birth weight (g)
1
39.5
1.8
39.5
1.8
Gestational age (w)
Gender
Boy
Caesarian section1
Yes
Older siblings1
≥1
Breastfeeding
≥ 4 months
Parental history of
allergic disease2
Yes
Maternal smoking during
pregnancy and/or in
infancy3
Yes
Socioeconomic status
White collar worker
1
n
%
n
%
2,065
50.5
1,663
50.5
507
12.6
427
13.0
1,801
44.9
1,473
44.7
3,116
79.5
2,580
79.6
1,200
29.7
976
29.9
563
13.8
449
13.6
3,323
81.6
2,697
82.2
Obtained from the medical birth register
2
Doctor diagnosed asthma and/or hay fever in combination with reported allergy to pollen
or pets in one or both parents
3
The mother smoked at least one cigarette per day at any point of time during pregnancy
and/or in infancy