Schultz ES, et al. - In the BAMSE birth cohort study, possible early life predictors of change in FEV₁ between age 8 and 16 years were determined as well as possible predictors of having persistently low lung function (FEV₁ <25th percentiles both at age 8 and 16) up to adolescence were also investigated using linear regression. A significant impact of low birth weight, asthma heredity (paternal), secondhand smoke in infancy, and season of birth on lung function growth was found. Gestational age, secondhand smoke (at 2 and 8 years of age), and factors related to lower respiratory tract infections in infancy were identified as predictors related to having persistently low lung function. Strengthening previous studies findings, an impact of factors before birth and in infancy, including second hand tobacco smoke, on lung function development was demonstrated in this study.