Premature babies may have a raised risk of developing asthma, researchers warn today.
A study, which included more than 1.5 million children around the world, indicates that asthma affects 8% of children born at full term, and 14% of those born prematurely (three or more weeks early). The risk applies to prematurely born children of preschool and school age.
This has the potential to become a significant health problem, say the researchers, led by Dr Jasper Been of Edinburgh University, UK. His team took figures from 30 studies based in six continents, of children born since the 1990s.
"Doctors and parents need to be aware of the increased risks of asthma in premature babies, in order to make early diagnosis and intervention possible," said Dr Been. "By changing the way we monitor and treat children born preterm, we hope to decrease the future risks of serious breathing problems, including asthma.
"Our findings should help find better ways to prevent and treat asthma and asthma-like symptoms in those born preterm."
The study appears today (29 January) in the journal PLoS Medicine.
Dr Samantha Walker of the charity Asthma UK commented: "This is a robust study providing further evidence that babies born before their due date are at increased risk of childhood asthma. We know that uncontrolled asthma in pregnant women, amongst other things, can increase the risk of premature birth, which reinforces the need for good asthma management during pregnancy.
"Standard asthma medicine is very safe to use in pregnancy, and by far the most important way to reduce this risk is for pregnant women to take their medication as prescribed."
Been, J. V. et al. Preterm Birth and Childhood Wheezing Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PLoS Medicine 29 January 2014; doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001596 [abstract]
Leave a Reply