Tag: Childhood

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Antibiotic Use in Infancy May Increase Risk of Childhood Asthma – HealthNewsDigest.com


HealthNewsDigest.com

Antibiotic Use in Infancy May Increase Risk of Childhood Asthma
HealthNewsDigest.com
Children who receive antibiotics within the first six months of life are at a significantly increased risk of developing asthma and allergies by 6 years of …
Giving antibiotics to babies could increase asthma riskTelegraph.co.uk

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Environmental risk factors for respiratory symptoms and childhood asthma.

Environmental risk factors for respiratory symptoms and childhood asthma.

Ann Agric Environ Med. 2010 Dec;17(2):221-9

Authors: Kasznia-Kocot J, Kowalska M, Gorny R, Niesler A, Wypych-Slusarska A

The presented cross-sectional study, comprised a group of 1,130 children from 13-15 years of age living in Upper Silesia, Poland, was undertaken to ascertain the role of environmental factors in the development of adverse respiratory health outcomes. To estimate the prevalence of these effects, the ISAAC questionnaire supplemented by questions related to risk factors was used. Bronchial asthma was identified in 4.5 percent of the children, asthma diagnosed by physicians in 8.7 percent, and prevalence of wheezing in the previous 12 months in 12.6 percent. The highest probability of wheezing was found in children with maternal genetic propensity (such as asthma, allergy), exposed to maternal smoking, or was connected with household risk factors such as the presence of dampness/mould or living in 50-year-old building. Female gender and attendance at nursery school were shown to be protective factors against wheezing. The probability of asthma was nearly twice as high in children residing in damp/mouldy dwellings, heated by coal-fired furnaces and living in the immediate vicinity of a road with heavy traffic. This study revealed that exposure to indoor (tobacco smoke, coal stove emission, mould or dampness in dwelling) and outdoor (traffic pollution) air contaminants are major environmental factors responsible for adverse respiratory health effects in children.

PMID: 21186763 [PubMed – in process]

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Respiratory Viruses, Eosinophilia and Their Roles in Childhood Asthma.

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Respiratory Viruses, Eosinophilia and Their Roles in Childhood Asthma.

Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 2010 Nov 25;155(1):1-11

Authors: Callaway Z, Kim CK

With the advent of highly sensitive and specific screening of respiratory specimens for viruses, new viruses are discovered, adding to the growing list of those associated with wheezing illness and asthma exacerbations. It is not known whether early childhood infections with these viruses cause asthma, and, if so, what exactly are the pathophysiologic mechanisms behind its development. The current consensus is that respiratory viral infection works together with allergy to produce the immune and physiologic conditions necessary for asthma diasthesis. One link between viruses and asthma may be the eosinophil, a cell that plays a prominent role in asthma and allergy, but can also be found in the body in response to viral infection. In turn, the eosinophil and its associated products may be novel therapeutic targets, or at the very least, used to elucidate the complex pathophysiologic pathways of asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Together or separately, they can be used for diagnosis, treatment and monitoring. Not only symptoms, but also the underlying disease mechanisms must be taken into consideration for the optimal care of a patient.

PMID: 21109743 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]

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