Adverse childhood experiences linked to asthma

One study making big news this month claims that children who have experienced trauma early on in life, are far more likely to go on to suffer from asthma in later years.

The study, published in the journal Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, claims that children who have witnessed drug abuse, domestic violence, mental illness or divorce are at greater risk. And the more traumas they are exposed to, the more their risk increases.The team found that children who had been through one adverse experience were 28% more likely to develop asthma than children from happy homes.

Stress has long been established as something that can trigger an asthma attack. But this latest study is the first to claim stress can actually cause the disease to develop in the first place.No home is perfect all of the time and with divorce rates on the rise, many children will experience some type of trauma in their lives. But this latest study does help to prove there are a wide range of factors that can increase a child’s risk. There is no doubt, asthma is a complex disease but the more we understand it, the greater our chance of identifying high risk children early on. And early diagnosis will give children a better chance of receiving the comprehensive and effective treatment they need.

To read more on the latest findings, follow the link here.