ERS: COPD Genetic Risk Tied to Childhood Lung Function in Polluted Areas

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 9, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) polygenic risk score (PRS) is associated with lung function development from infancy to childhood in those with exposure to high air pollution, according to a study presented at the annual congress of the European Respiratory Society, held from Sept. 5 to 9 in Barcelona, Spain.Carla R. da Silva Sena, M.D., from the University of Bern in Switzerland, and colleagues analyzed data from 484 infants in the Basel-Bern Infant Lung Development cohort to examine whether PRS is associated with lung function trajectories from infancy to childhood. Analyses were stratified by exposure to air pollution (highest versus lowest tertiles of fine particulate matter [PM2.5] and nitrogen dioxide [NO2]). Lung function was assessed at 44 weeks using the time to peak tidal expiratory flow (tPTEF)/total expiratory time (tE) and using spirometry at 6 years.The researchers found that among children in the highest PM2.5 and NO2 tertiles, a one-standard deviation increase in COPD PRS was associated with a decrease in tPTEF/tE-forced expiratory volume in one second z-score (β = −0.47 and −0.61, respectively). In the lower tertiles, no significant association was seen. In the highest NO2 tertile only, a similar pattern was seen for tPTEF/tE-forced vital capacity (β = −0.66)."These findings suggest that some babies may be born with a higher genetic risk for COPD, and this risk may already begin to show up as differences in lung function growth in early childhood, but only in those who grow up in areas with higher air pollution," da Silva Sena said in a statement.Press ReleaseMore Information.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

ERS: COPD Genetic Risk Tied to Childhood Lung Function in Polluted Areas

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