Asthma link to caesarean
Tuesday December 2nd, 2008
Growing rates of caesarean section have caused alarm - and now researchers have found a new reason for concern.
Children born through this operation face a nearly doubled risk of developing asthma, according to a new study.
The conclusions come from a study of nearly 3,000 children in Switzerland. About one in eight had been diagnosed with asthma by the age of eight.
Just 247 had been born through caesarean section but they were 80 per cent more likely than others to have developed asthma, according to the report in the journal Thorax.
Researcher Dr Caroline Roduit, of the Kinderspital Zurich, Switzerland, says the reason may be that caesarean section delays development of the immune system - because there is reduced exposure to bacteria.
She writes: "The increased rate of caesarean section is partly due to maternal demand without medical reason.
"In this situation the mother should be informed of the risk of asthma for her child, especially when the parents have a history of allergy or asthma."
A second study in the same journal says that asthma breathing exercises have limited benefits.
Scottish doctors found that the exercises improved the quality of life but did not reduce the need for inhalers.
Some 200 adults took part in the research conducted by GP Dr Mike Thomas, of the University of Aberdeen.
Meanwhile researchers warned of a draw-back to the folic acid supplements that pregnant women are advised to take.
A new study links the taking of folic acid in the first three months of pregnancy to the development of breathing problems in babies.
A study of 32,000 Norwegian children found that infants born to mothers who took the supplement were more likely than others to wheeze or succumb to respiratory infections.
Significantly, they were 24 per cent more likely than others to need hospital admission for their illness.
America fortifies its flour with folic acid.
Researcher Dr Siri Håberg, of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, says the findings add to laboratory research which had linked folic acid to the development of allergic asthma.
The researchers call for more research on the subject - as folic acid has been shown to have a dramatic impact in preventing the development of spina bifida and neural tube defects.
Thorax 2008; doi 10.1136/thx.2008.100875, doi 10.1136/thx.2008.100867
Archives of Disease in Childhood doi: 10.1136/adc.2008.142448
Tags: Allergies & Asthma | Child Health | Childbirth and Pregnancy | Europe | UK News
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