Asthma risks

How likely am I to get asthma?

While the underlying cause of asthma remains unknown, genetics play a strong role in the development of asthma if there is a family history of asthma, eczema or allergies (1/ 2).

It's also important to be aware of lifestyle factors that can cause asthma in children. If you smoke during pregnancy (3) or around your children, you're putting them at risk of developing the condition.

Children are 35 per cent more likely to develop asthma, if their mother smoked during pregnancy. And although it's not as common adults may find that following a viral infection they develop asthma (4).

People who are overweight (4) or have a poor diet are also susceptible to the illness (5).

Infolinks:

Refs

  1. Wadonda-Kabondo, Sterne and Golding et al | Association of parental eczema, hayfever, and asthma with atopic dermatitis in infancy: birth cohort study | Archives of Disease in Childhood | 2004 Oct; 89(10):917-21
  2. Public Health Genetics Unit | Genetic contribution to asthma severity? | Published Aug 13 2002 | Accessed Mar 24 2009
  3. Stick, Burton and Gurrin et al | Effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy and a family history of asthma on respiratory function in newborn infants | The Lancet: volume 348, issue 9034, pp 1060 - 1064 | 19 October 1996
  4. van Rijt, Kessel, Boogaard and Lambrecht | Respiratory viral infections and asthma pathogenesis: A critical role for dendritic cells? | Journal of Clinical Virology, Volume 34, Issue 3, Pages 161-169
  5. Wickens, Barry and Friezema et al | Fast foods - are they a risk factor for asthma? | Allergy 60 (12): 1537-1541, December 2005

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