Lung Function at Birth May Predict Asthma Risk

Related Encyclopedia • Acne • Alagille Syndrome • Appendicitis • Asthma More... Related Healthscout Videos Natural Intelligence Does Bipolar Disorder Affect Children? Stents for Lungs? New Sinusitis Diagnosis Method More... Related Animations • Asthma • Dental Cavities More... Related Drug Information • Adderal XR • Advair Diskus • Combivent • Concerta More... Related News Articles • Sleep Apnea Can Trouble Kids, Too • Sleep Apnea Treatment Helps Stave Off Heart Disease • Anti-Cholesterol Drugs Help Prevent Lung Decline • Home Spray Cleaners Could Raise Asthma Risk More...

Page:  << Prev | 1 | 2

Twenty percent of the children -- or their parents -- reported a history of asthma and 11 percent currently had asthma.

About 16 percent of those children who had normal lung function at birth had a history of asthma, compared to just over 24 percent of those with less than optimal lung function as infants. Of those who currently had asthma, 7.5 percent had normal lung function tests as newborns, compared to 14.6 percent of those who had poorer lung function at birth.

"This is an exciting early step in understanding the development and pathogenesis of asthma," said asthma specialist Dr. Sai Nimmagadda, an attending physician at Children's Memorial Hospital and an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago.

Text Continues Below

---

"Is the risk profile present at birth? Could we predict asthma at birth? If a baby has a high-risk [due to family history], is this another screening tool that could be used?" said Nimmagadda. "Right now, it would still be years from developing such a protocol. The test is probably very expensive and isn't standardized or easy to do."

Haland said: "We can not from our study recommend that lung function be routinely tested at birth as the equipment is relatively expensive and bulky. In addition, we do not know today what preventive [steps] should be applied in order to prevent children at risk from developing asthma."

More information

To learn more about asthma, visit the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (www.nhlbi.nih.gov ).

Page:  << Prev | 1 | 2