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 HEALTH NEWS Study: Kids may develop asthma if parents are stressed
10/01/2001
If you have asthma, you already know your child is at increased risk. But now, a new study suggests one of the worst things you can do as new parent is to get stressed out. What makes the study interesting is that it focused not on the children themselves, but on what was going on around them during the first three weeks of life. “A study like this suggests that severe distress very early in life can have consequences,” says Dr. David Mrazek of the Mayo Clinic. Newborns whose parent's had difficulty coping emotionally, whether due to depression or martial conflict, were twice as likely to develop asthma by the time they were six to eight years old. Early stress is thought to damage a child's immune system. “I think that it's important for a parent with asthma to appreciate that their child has some increased risk. But the important message is that they can do things about that. They can change the environment of their child to minimize the likelihood of their child developing the illness,” says Dr. Mrazek. The researchers are quick to point out that even children with well-adjusted, caring parents can still go on to develop asthma, but that psychological environment can play a significant role. Other asthma triggers include pollen and pet dander. The findings are published in the October issue of Pediatrics. More Health Headlines |
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