Isle of Wight Birth Cohort 26 Year Follow-up
Research type
Research Study
Full title
EPIDEMIOLOGY OF ASTHMA, ALLERGIC DISEASE AND LUNG FUNCTION IN EARLY ADULT LIFE
IRAS ID
174262
Contact name
Sarah Knight
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Asthma, allergic diseases and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are amongst the commonest non-communicable diseases. Although, 80-90% of COPD patients in the Western world have a history of personal smoking, only 15-30% of smokers develop COPD. We do not know how to identify those susceptible smokers due to the complex relationship between genetics, early life environment, childhood asthma and personal smoking that cumulatively impart COPD risk.
Although symptom onset is conventionally not recognised until middle age, it is increasingly recognised that COPD has its origins in early life. Our prior work indicates that environmental exposures during pregnancy (e.g.maternal smoking) and the early postnatal period (e.g., breastfeeding, obesity) have long-term effects on asthma and lung function. We know that accelerated decline in lung function is a major characteristic of COPD. However, suboptimal lung growth during adolescence may predispose patients to COPD in early adulthood or later in life, even if they have a normal rate of decline.
This cohort would allow us to examine differing trajectories of lung growth and lung function decline. We would be able to assess the differences in these changes between smokers and non-smokers in patients with a highly defined asthma and allergic status. This is important as the two major causes of accelerated decline in lung function are asthma and smoking, with a significant interaction between the two in asthmatic smokers.
Using the Isle of Wight (IoW) longitudinal birth cohort, we propose to identify those at risk of future COPD by investigating the effect of exposure to smoking, early life risk factors and allergic comorbidities, and clarify differing lung function trajectories. We propose doing this through mostly blood, urine and sputum samples, alongside breathing tests, allergy testing, questionnaires and physical examination.
REC name
West Midlands - Edgbaston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/WM/0071
Date of REC Opinion
19 Feb 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion