Asthma
Culture-specific asthma education has benefits
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Educating asthma sufferers in a way that is specific and appropriate to their individual and cultural needs can make a positive difference in their quality of life, researchers have found.
“Culture-specific programs, in comparison to generic education programs or usual care, were effective at improving asthma related quality of life for adults and asthma knowledge scores for children and parents,” Emily Bailey told Reuters Health.
However, “There is not enough evidence at this stage to say that culture-specific programs will show an improvement for asthma exacerbations,” said Bailey, of Menzies School of Health Research in Queensland, Australia.
Obesity worsens impact of asthma
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Obesity can worsen the impact of asthma and may also mask its severity in standard tests, according to researchers in New Zealand, who studied lung function in asthmatic women with a range of body mass indexes (BMIs).
This is the first prospective study to reveal a significant comparative difference in how the airways and lungs respond to a simulated asthma attack in obese and non-obese individuals.
The research is reported in the first issue for May of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society. It establishes a direct link between obesity and the development of a phenomenon known as “dynamic hyperinflation”—when air breathed into the lungs cannot be exhaled. This often occurs with acute asthma, but is more frequent in obese individuals.
Asthma ‘drops’ may treat allergic asthma in kids
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Children who suffer from asthma triggered by allergens - so-called allergic asthma—may benefit from an “under the tongue” therapy designed to increase tolerance to offending allergens, and, in turn, decrease asthma symptoms and medication use.
Research shows that sublingual immunotherapy, or SLIT, reduces symptoms and use of rescue medication use in children with allergic asthma, according to a report in the medical journal Chest. SLIT involves the oral administration of allergen extracts, either through soluble tablets or drops.
Dr. Giorgio Walter Canonica, of the University of Genoa, Italy, and colleagues pooled data from nine randomized, controlled clinical trials in order to assess the efficacy of SLIT in the treatment of allergic asthma in children.
Acid-blockers in pregnancy up kids’ asthma risk
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Children whose mothers took stomach acid-blocking medication during pregnancy have increased odds of developing asthma, a Boston team announced here at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
The findings were presented by Dr. Elizabeth H. Yen of Children’s Hospital, Boston. Her group analyzed data from three national Swedish healthcare registries to examine acid-blocker use by pregnant women in relation to rates of asthma in their children.
Increased Allergen Levels in Homes Linked to Asthma
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Results from a new national survey demonstrate that elevated allergen levels in the home are associated with asthma symptoms in allergic individuals. The study suggests that asthmatics that have allergies may alleviate symptoms by reducing allergen exposures inside their homes. The work was carried out by researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the University of Iowa, Rho Inc., and the Constella Group. The team’s findings may help millions of Americans who suffer from asthma.
“Indoor allergen exposures are of great importance in relation to asthma because most people spend a majority of their time indoors, especially at home,” said Darryl Zeldin, M.D., a Principal Investigator in the Laboratory of Respiratory Biology at NIEHS and senior author on the paper.
Asthma is one of the most common chronic ailments in the United States, affecting more than 22 million people. Asthma has been shown to be triggered by a wide range of substances called allergens.
Handling Pesticides Associated with Greater Asthma Risk in Farm Women
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New research on farm women has shown that contact with some commonly used pesticides in farm work may increase their risk of allergic asthma.
“Farm women are an understudied occupational group,” said Jane Hoppin, Sc.D., of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and lead author of the study. “More than half the women in our study applied pesticides, but there is very little known about the risks.”
Menopausal Women May Have an Increased Asthma Risk
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Menopause is associated with lower lung function and more respiratory symptoms, especially among lean women, according to a new study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI).
The study, “Lung function, respiratory symptoms, and the menopausal transition,” can be found in the articles in press section of the JACI Web site, http://www.jacionline.org. The JACI is the peer-reviewed journal of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI).
Antibiotic treatment targets difficult asthma
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Hunter researchers have shown that a commonly available antibiotic can improve the quality of life of patients with difficult asthma, and may also generate significant health care savings.
Results of a study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, a top international journal, indicate that macrolide antibiotics could prove a successful therapy in conjunction with current asthma treatment.
Family history a risk factor for asthma death
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An analysis of genealogy records linked to death certificates in Utah suggests that the risk of dying from an asthma attack is hereditary.
Dr. Craig C. Teerlink and associates at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City identified 1553 asthma-related deaths in a registry of all Utah deaths since 1904.
Study Links Asthma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
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For the first time, a study has linked asthma with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among adults in the community. The study of male twins who were veterans of the Vietnam era suggests that the association between asthma and PTSD is not primarily explained by common genetic influences.
The study included 3,065 male twin pairs, who had lived together in childhood, and who had both served on active military duty during the Vietnam War. The study found that among all twins, those who suffered from the most PTSD symptoms were 2.3 times as likely to have asthma compared with those who suffered from the least PTSD symptoms.
Weight gain may make asthma control more difficult
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Weight gain is associated with an increased risk of poorly controlled asthma, according to findings presented in Grapevine, Texas, at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.
In a 3-year study, the researchers observed 2,396 patients with severe or difficult-to-treat asthma. Those who gained 5 pounds or more between the beginning of the study and 1 year reported poorer asthma control and worse quality of life than patients who maintained their initial weight or lost 5 or more pounds during the same period, researchers reported.
Overweight kids at risk for asthma hospitalization
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Overweight children seen in the ER for an asthma flare-up are more likely to be admitted to the hospital than their non-overweight peers, according to a report in the journal Pediatrics. Moreover, this finding holds true regardless of illness severity.
“This is the first study in children to examine the relationship between overweight and hospital admission during asthma exacerbations,” lead author Dr. Christopher L. Carroll, from Connecticut Children’s Hospital in Hartford, told Reuters Health.
Bacteria in newborn airways may raise asthma risk
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Newborns who harbor certain types of bacteria in their throats, including Streptococcus pneumoniae, a common cause of pneumonia, and Haemophilus influenzae, which causes upper respiratory infections, are at increased risk for developing recurrent wheeze or asthma early in life, new research shows.
This finding “opens new perspectives for the understanding and prediction of recurrent wheeze and asthma in young children,” lead author Dr. Hans Bisgaard, from Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, and colleagues conclude in their report in The New England Journal of Medicine for October 11.
Family, neighborhood can affect children’s asthma
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For children with asthma, problems in the family or in the neighborhood may make their condition worse, a new study suggests.
Canadian researchers found that asthma symptoms tended to be more severe among children and teens from dysfunctional families or from neighborhoods with crime problems. They say the findings suggest that improving children’s home life may also help control their asthma.
Managing Asthma in Children
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Asthma is the No. 1 cause of hospitalizations among children, but with proper management, children can have full participation in school and sporting events.
Experts estimate nearly 20 million Americans have asthma, ranging from 7 percent to 12 percent of children. Among African-Americans the rate of asthma is even higher.
