Parenthood impacts short-term health outcomes in people with cystic fibrosis

Background: People with cystic fibrosis (CF) are living longer, healthier lives. A growing number are considering parenthood. There is a substantial knowledge gap regarding the health impacts of parenthood on people with CF. Methods: Using data from the United Kingdom CF registry from 2015 to 2019, we evaluated the impact of having a child on percent predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 second (ppFEV1), body mass index (BMI), and pulmonary exacerbations via multivariable longitudinal data analysis adjusting for age and sex in the year before a person with CF became a parent to the first year following parenthood. We examined whether changes from pre- to post-parenthood differed by sex or CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulator use. Results: Among 296 people with CF who became parents, we found a significant decrease in ppFEV1, (adjusted mean difference -3.19, CI: -4.31, -2.07; p<0.01) and BMI (adjusted mean difference -0.28, CI: -0.51, -0.05; p<0.02) and a significant increase in pulmonary exacerbations (adjusted rate ratio 1.3, CI: 1.13, 1.49; p<0.01) in the year following the birth of a child compared to the year prior. Further analysis showed that CFTR modulator use mitigated parenthood impacts on ppFEV1, but not on BMI and pulmonary exacerbations. Females experienced significantly worse impacts on BMI from pre- to post-parenthood compared to males. Conclusions: Parenthood adversely impacts short-term health outcomes for people with CF and CFTR modulator use mitigates such effects. To better understand the impact of the widespread use of highly effective CFTR modulators, longer-term, prospective parenthood studies are needed.