Press Releases: Southern California
March 8, 2004
Pregnant women using inhaled steroids to treat asthma do not adversely affect the growth of the infant
PASADENA, Calif. – A national multi-center study coordinated by Kaiser Permanente has shown that pregnant women can safely use inhaled steroids to manage their persistent asthma without adversely affecting the growth of their infant. The study confirms that no significant relationship exists between any specific inhaled steroids or their dosage and either infants being small for their gestational age (SGA) or having lower birth weights.
"Although inhaled steroids are recommended for the treatment of persistent asthma during pregnancy, until now the potential effects on intrauterine growth had not been adequately evaluated," said Michael Schatz, MD, MS, Chief, Department of Allergy, Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center and the study's principal investigator.
The study findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology in Denver, Colo. in March, 2003 and published in the March, 2004 edition of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. It was supported by a grant from Aventis Pharmaceuticals to the American College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology.
Pregnant asthmatic women being treated with inhaled steroids were enrolled in the study by their allergists prior to delivery. Information on the specific inhaled steroid and the daily dose, requirement for oral steroids, frequency of acute asthmatic episodes, the race of the mother, birth weight, gestational age, and congenital malformations was obtained for each patient. Infants were determined to be SGA using a published sample of American births.
"We were very interested in evaluating the association between the use of specific inhaled steroids during pregnancy and the incidence of small for SGA infants and low birth weight," said Diana Petitti, MD, MPH, Director of Research and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program and a co-author of the study.
Of the 474 women who were enrolled in the study, 451 participants' pregnancies resulted in a single live birth and, 396 (88 %) completed the study. The incidence of low birth weight infants, preterm births, and congenital malformations was no greater than the number expected in the general population.
No significant relationship between any specific inhaled steroid or dose of inhaled steroid used and either SGA or mean birth weight was observed.
Current national research indicates that seven out of every 100 pregnant asthmatic women experience asthma at sometime during their pregnancy. Other studies have shown that, compared to non-asthmatic women, pregnant asthmatic women have an increased risk of perinatal mortality, preeclampsia (pregnancy induced high blood pressure), preterm birth, and of having a low birth weight baby.
The study's other authors are Jennifer Namazy, MD; Linda Long, BA; Myron Lipkowitz, MD*>; Madeline A. Lillie, MD; Martin Voss, MD; and Robert J. Deitz, MD.
*Deceased
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is America's leading integrated health plan. Founded in 1945, it is a nonprofit, group practice prepayment program with Southern California headquarters in Pasadena, California. Kaiser Permanente serves the health care needs of 3.3 million members in Southern California. Today it encompasses the nonprofit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the for-profit Southern California Permanente Medical Group. Kaiser Permanente's Southern California Region includes more than 49,900 technical, administrative and clerical employees and caregivers, and more than 6,000 physicians representing all specialties. More information about Kaiser Permanente can be found at kaiserpermanente.org.
