| Risk Factors for Asthma | |||||||
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- What is asthma?
- Symptoms of asthma
- Causes of asthma
- Prevention of asthma
- Risk factors for asthma
- Complications of asthma
- When to see a doctor about asthma
- Diagnosis of asthma
- Conventional treatment of asthma
- Alternative/complementary treatment of asthma
- Living with asthma
- Caring for someone with asthma
There are a number of known risk factors for asthma developing in a child or adult. Most of these risk can trigger asthma in some susceptible individuals. Scientists do not know why these triggers can cause asthma in some people and not in others.
Some of these risk factors are unpreventable:
- Allergic rhinitis - people who have allergic rhinitis (or hay fever) have a much higher risk of developing asthma; children of parents who have allergic rhinitis are also at risk of developing asthma
- Allergies - parents who have any type of allergies themselves have a much higher risk of having a child who develops asthma
- Genetics - families who have children that have asthma have a higher risk of those children producing their own children who also have asthma
- Sickle cell anaemia - several studies have suggested that people who have sickle cell also generally have a higher incidence (30-70%) of also having asthma too. It is thought that sick cell anaemia has some factors which are similar to asthma, but more research is being done as these factors are not yet known
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Some of the risk factors for reducing development of asthma (or at least reducing symptoms) are mostly preventable:
- Adequate intake of fish - recent studies have suggested that people who never ate fish in childhood were at an increased risk for asthma and this is directly due to the anti-inflammatory, lung protective effects of the omega-3 fatty acids in the fish. The research suggested that fish intake less than weekly in adults was associated with more asthma symptoms
- Bottle feeding - if a baby has been predominantly bottle fed for the first 4-6 months of life, then they may have a higher risk of developing asthma because there may not be enough of the nutrients present in their diet
- Exposure to allergens - research shows that babies and young children who are exposed to allergens (such as tobacco smoke, dust, pollen, cat fur) early in life have a higher risk of developing asthma; parents who have allergies, hay fever or asthma themselves, should limit their child's exposure to any type of possible allergen to reduce their child's risk of developing asthma
- Good diet while pregnant - women should follow a mostly Mediterranean diet while they are pregnant to ensure they reduce the risk that their unborn child will have asthma (or allergies)
- Overuse of antibiotics - research shows that if antibiotics are given to babies in the first year of their life, this can cause a 4-fold risk in the babies developing asthma, when compared to babies who never received antibiotics in their first year of life
- Poor diet - recent research suggests that when teenagers and young adults have a poor diet, with little nutritional value (too little fresh fruits and vegetables, too little foods high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish and too little foods rich in antioxidants), this can result in asthma symptoms which are even worse in those people who also smoked
- Vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy - recent research suggests that a deficiency of the fat-soluble vitamin D in pregnancy may significantly reduce the incidence of asthma in the unborn child (which may develop asthma in childhood) by as much as 40%
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< 4:prevention of asthma 6:complication of asthma > Last reviewed: 7 October 2007 || Last updated: 3 January 2009
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NOTE: Mega doses of any type of vitamin, mineral, amino acid or herbal supplement cannot cure illnesses and in fact can be very dangerous and produce toxic side effects and interfere with medicine you are taking. Always ensure you consult your doctor before taking any type of complementary supplements.
Disclaimer: This guide is not intended to be used for diagnostic or prescriptive purposes. For any treatment or diagnosis of illness, please see your doctor.
