Sex in association to lung function at school age
Overall, the boys born preterm had in many aspects worse lung function
than the boys born at term, which was not seen to the same extent in the
girls born preterm compared to girls born at term. Boys born very
preterm had more airflow limitation during spirometry, more air
trapping, higher airway resistance, more peripheral airway dysfunction,
lower diffusion capacity, and more ventilation inhomogeneity than boys
born at term (Tables 5, E-tables 7 and 8). In comparison with preterm
girls, preterm boys had significantly lower expiratory flows, lower
dysanapsis ratio, lower diffusion capacity, and more ventilation
inhomogeneity.
In girls born very preterm, expiratory flows, dysanapsis ratio, air
trapping, and ventilation inhomogeneity were not significantly different
from what was measured in girls born at term. However, both boys and
girls born very preterm had significantly more small airway dysfunction,
as measured by IOS, than their term-born counterparts (Table 5).”