In utero programming of atopic manifestations has been suggested. We investigated the association between
oral contraceptive (OC) use before, and complications during pregnancy (
CDP) and
asthma, along with other atopic manifestations. The study is based on neonates from Kingston and St Andrew, a geographic subcohort from the Jamaican Perinatal Morbidity, Mortality Survey conducted in 1986-1987. Information on OC use and
CDP was extracted from maternal interviews and medical records. In a follow up in 1997-1998, via interviews with mothers, trained nurses collected information on
asthma/
wheezing, coughing,
eczema, and
hay fever. Data, specific to this paper, from birth and 11-12 yr of age was available for a total of 1040 of the 1720 members of the geographic subcohort. Using logistic regression, controlling for confounders, we estimated adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI). For
asthma or
wheezing, and coughing, aOR for OC use were 1.81 (95% CI: 1.25-2.61), and 2.72 (95% CI: 1.41-5.24), respectively.
CDP was only shown to be a significant risk factor for
hay fever. Additionally, a higher number of older siblings were protective for
hay fever. The results suggest that
asthma in childhood may be programmed in utero.