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  • Asthma: News 67 October 2001

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    The document summarizes findings from the largest asthma study involving over 140,000 participants across 22 countries. The study found up to an 8-fold difference in asthma rates between countries. While environmental allergens did not fully explain the variations, a link was found between paracetamol use and increased asthma susceptibility. Children with a family history of asthma were more likely to develop the disease as well. However, allergic sensitization alone only accounted for 13% of differences in bronchial responsiveness between countries.

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    The document summarizes findings from the largest asthma study involving over 140,000 participants across 22 countries. The study found up to an 8-fold difference in asthma rates between countries. While environmental allergens did not fully explain the variations, a link was found between paracetamol use and increased asthma susceptibility. Children with a family history of asthma were more likely to develop the disease as well. However, allergic sensitization alone only accounted for 13% of differences in bronchial responsiveness between countries.

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    31 views1 page

    Asthma: News 67 October 2001

    Uploaded by

    anlme7899
    The document summarizes findings from the largest asthma study involving over 140,000 participants across 22 countries. The study found up to an 8-fold difference in asthma rates between countries. While environmental allergens did not fully explain the variations, a link was found between paracetamol use and increased asthma susceptibility. Children with a family history of asthma were more likely to develop the disease as well. However, allergic sensitization alone only accounted for 13% of differences in bronchial responsiveness between countries.

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    NEWS, NEWS NEWS

    NEWS 67 OCTOBER 2001

    ASTHMA
    The world’s largest asthma study seems to discount the notion that environmental aller-
    gens could account for the huge variation in asthma rates across Europe, but does link
    paracetamol use with increased susceptibility to asthma. The European community respi-
    ratory health survey, a cross sectional study of atopy, asthma, and other chronic respira-
    tory disorders, was carried out in 22 countries around the world (mostly in Europe) during
    the early 1990s and involved around 140,000 participants. It found a fourfold difference in
    the prevalence of nasal allergy between the most and least affected countries, a sixfold
    difference in the prevalence of current asthma, and an eightfold difference in the preva-
    lence of wheezing. Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and the United States had the
    most asthma, while low rates were found in Iceland, Norway, Spain, Germany, Italy,
    Algeria, India, and the former Warsaw Pact countries. A strong genetic association was
    found in both asthma and atopy. Children whose mothers had asthma were at 3.2 times
    more likely to develop the disease, 2.9 times if the father had asthma, and 7 times if both
    parents had asthma. Having a large number of siblings seems to reduce the risk of asthma
    and of allergy. House dust mites and cat allergens were the most frequent allergic causes
    of airway constriction. However allergic sensitisation accounted for only 13% of the over-
    all variation in bronchial responsiveness. With paracetamol use it was found that the
    prevalence of wheezing in 13-14 year olds increased by 0.5% for every gram of drug taken
    per person per year. It is not known whether this might be due to an actual effect of para-
    cetamol, or an unexplained preventive effect of aspirin in countries where it is preferred to
    paracetamol. (European Respiratory Journal (2001;18:598-611); BMJ 2001;323:592, 15/9/01).

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