Inhaled corticosteroids may enhance respiratory health of infants born to women with asthma: Study
A new study published in the journal of BMJ Thorax showed that inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) may enhance the respiratory health of infants born to women with asthma by reducing the link between maternal asthma and decreased lung function.
For unknown causes, infants of asthmatic moms have decreased lung function in their early years. Thus, this study examined the relationship between ICS usage during pregnancy and lung function in the newborn. To investigate the effects of ICS usage during pregnancy, this study assessed lung function at 4 to 6 weeks of age in children from two prospective birth cohorts, one of which included pregnant women with asthma and the other of which did not.
Tidal breathing flow–volume loops and functional residual capacity were used to evaluate infant lung function. The ratio of time to peak tidal expiratory flow to expiratory time (tPTEF:tE), normalized to functional residual capacity to account for variations in lung size and maturation, was used to quantify airway function.
The results of 232 newborns were compared: infants of mothers without asthma, infants of mothers with asthma who did not use ICS during pregnancy (n = 25), and infants of mothers with asthma who used ICS during pregnancy (n = 161). Prenatal or postpartum self-report was used to determine the usage of ICS by mothers.
When asthmatic mothers used ICS during pregnancy, the ratio of time to peak tidal expiratory flow to expiratory time (tPTEF:tE), adjusted for end-expiratory lung volume (FRC), was better in the offspring (n=161 ICS use vs. n=25 no ICS use; coefficient 0.06 /mL, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.11, p=0.014).
Infants born to asthmatic mothers who did not use ICS had a lower tPTEF:tE to FRC ratio (n=46 no asthma vs. n=25 asthma no ICS use; coefficient −0.08 /mL, 95% CI −0.01 to −0.02, p=0.012) than infants born to asthmatic mothers who did use ICS. Overall, interestingly, tPTEF:tE adjusted for FRC [functional residual capacity] did not significantly vary between infants born to moms without asthma and those born to mothers with asthma who took ICS throughout pregnancy.
Source:
Martins Costa Gomes, G., Collison, A. M., Karmaus, W. J. J., Da Silva Sena, C. R., Murphy, V. E., Brew, B. K., Grace, T., Robinson, P. D., Sly, P. D., Frey, U., Latzin, P., Wyler, F., Pennell, C. E., Gibson, P. G., & Mattes, J. (2025). Association between maternal asthma and impaired infant lung function is diminished by inhaled corticosteroid use in pregnancy. Thorax, thorax-2025-223539. https://doi.org/10.1136/thorax-2025-223539
