The latest in Reuters Group Plc

Lower asthma risk in chubby tots who slim down

2011-12-20T16:00:09Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Overweight preschoolers who keep the extra pounds have a heightened asthma risk at age seven, but the baby fat doesn't seem to matter for kids who slim down, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that of more than 2,000 Swedish children they followed to age eight, those who were overweight or obese at age seven were more likely to have asthma than their thinner ...

Even low pollen levels can trigger kids' asthma

2011-12-01T12:30:24Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Kids with asthma and pollen allergies were more likely to wheeze, cough and have shortness of breath and other asthma symptoms -- even when pollen levels were considered "low" -- in a new study that suggests parents need to be careful in all seasons.

Yale and Brown University researchers ...

Asthma drugs may increase attacks in kids: report

2011-10-25T14:30:36Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - One class of drugs used to prevent wheezing and shortness of breath in people with asthma may increase kids' risk of being hospitalized for an asthma attack, according to a new analysis from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

However, researchers said, it's pos...

Workplace pollutants tied to kids' asthma risk

2011-10-07T12:30:10Z

(Reuters) - A mother's exposure to airborne pollutants at work during her pregnancy may increase the likelihood that her unborn child will later develop asthma, a Danish study said.

The review of registry data on 45,658 seven-year-old children and their mothers found that 18.6 percent of children of mothers who were exposed to low-molecular-weight particles at work during pregnancy developed asthma, comp...

Obese kids have more asthma flare-ups

2011-09-02T13:30:26Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Shaving off extra pounds might help asthmatic kids prevent flare-ups of the disease, according to a study that found obese children have a harder time controlling their symptoms.

The work is the first to show that even after taking race and social factors into account, heavier kids use more drugs to control their asthma and curb flare-ups than their slimmer peers....

Parents underestimate kids' asthma symptoms

2011-07-15T09:01:47Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Parents of kids with asthma don't always realize when their children's treatment is inadequate, a new drugmaker-funded survey suggests.

While more than seven out of every 10 parents interviewed described their child's asthma as "mild" or "intermittent," the disease was adequately treated in only six in 10 kids.

Based on stricter guidelines, the number of kid...

U.S. asthma rates rising but reasons unclear: CDC

2011-05-03T15:00:54Z

CHICAGO (Reuters) - About 25 million Americans, or 1 in 12 people, have asthma, a figure that is rising despite efforts to control key asthma triggers such as indoor smoking, U.S. government researchers said on Tuesday.

According to the Reuters Health) - Swiss researchers have tied asthma risk to several common painkillers, adding to ongoing controversy about the role of such drugs in the worldwide upswing in the disease.

But they say their work hints that painkillers aren't at the root of the problem, but rather a consequence of it.

Earlier studies have found that kids who commonly take acetaminophen, a lea...

Acetaminophen no asthma trigger after all?

2010-10-18T12:30:12Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Doctors have been scratching their heads for years over the higher asthma risk in kids who use acetaminophen, a common painkiller known as Tylenol in the US.

Just last August, researchers studying toddlers in Ethiopi...

'Desert dust' days may worsen kids' asthma

2010-08-06T12:45:28Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Dust blown from faraway deserts may accumulate in the air to levels great enough to contribute to children's asthma attacks, a new study suggests.

It's well established that poor air quality can worsen symptoms in people with asthma or other lung disease, and children are thought to be particularly susceptible due to factors like their smaller airways and less developed immune systems.

...

Mediterranean diet may not protect against asthma

2010-07-15T10:45:18Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Countries on the Mediterranean might enjoy low asthma rates, but their typical diet shouldn't take the credit, suggests a new study.

"At the moment, we cannot give definitive advice about any protective effect of diet on asthma," said study co-author Dr. F.J. Gonzalez Barcala of the Hospital de Pontevedra in

Insufficient vitamin D tied to severe asthma attacks

2010-06-23T12:30:28Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Asthmatic children with relatively low vitamin D levels in their blood may have a greater risk of suffering severe asthma attacks than those with higher levels of the vitamin, a new study suggests.

The study, which followed more than 1,000 children with asthma for four years, found those with vitamin-D "insufficiency" at the outset were more likely to have an asthma attack that required a ...

Exercise might aid asthma control: study

2010-06-17T11:15:12Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Adults whose asthma is not fully controlled by medication might gain some benefits from adding an exercise routine to their lives, a small study suggests.

While exercise can trigger asthma symptoms in some people, there is also evidence that physically active asthmatics tend to have better overall asthma control than their sedentary counterparts. But whether that signals a benefit of exerc...

Dogs plus pollutants may raise asthma risk in kids

2010-06-16T13:45:12Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Kids who grow up with a dog in the house may be at higher risk of developing asthma if they're also exposed to secondhand smoke or nitrogen dioxide, new research shows.

Children exposed to the toxic gas and to dog allergen during their first year of life were nearly five times as likely to have asthma at age 7 compared to kids with neither exposure, while dog allergen plus secondhand smoke...

Work stress linked to higher asthma risk

2010-05-27T08:45:12Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who regularly feel stressed out by their jobs may have a higher risk of developing asthma than those with a more-relaxed work atmosphere, a new study suggests.

High on-the-job stress has been linked to a number of health consequences, including heightened risks of heart disease, diabetes and depression.

The new findings, published in the journal Allergy, are the first to show ...

Art therapy reduces anxiety in kids with asthma

2010-05-21T12:30:16Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Draw your own conclusions: Researchers suggest in a small new study that art therapy makes kids less anxious about their condition.

The results provide "encouraging initial data" that art therapy can help improve the emotional health of chronically ill children, the authors write in the May issue of the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology.

According to the Reuters Health) - Exposure to certain substances on the job is a major contributor to asthma attacks, a new analysis of European data shows.

Overall, the researchers estimate that work-related exposures to gases, dust, fumes and other substances account for 15 percent of all asthma exacerbations among workers with asthma. Every year, they add, this translates to around 90,000 asthma exacerbations in 27 Euro...

Peanut allergy linked to worse asthma in kids

2010-03-11T14:01:06Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Among children and teenagers with asthma, those who also have peanut allergies may have more or more-severe asthma attacks, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that among 160 5- to 18-year-olds with asthma seen at their center, the 46 with peanut allergies generally had more hospitalizations for asthma exacerbations than children without the food allergy. They also had a higher rate of...

Infant swimming tied to lung infection, asthma

2010-04-16T07:19:48Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children who start swimming before the age of 2 may be at increased risk of a common infant lung infection, and possibly asthma and respiratory allergies later in life, a new study suggests.

The findings, reported in the European Respiratory Journal, add to evidence that exposure to chlorinated pools ma...

Number of kids in daycare may affect asthma risk

2010-04-16T08:43:49Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The more other children toddlers are exposed to at day care, up to a certain point, the lower their risk of developing asthma, new research shows.

The findings provide more evidence to support the "hygiene hypothesis," or the idea that early exposure to immune system stimuli like germs and animals -- and other kids --can help ward off asthma, the study's lead author, Reuters Health) - An analysis of 19 studies provides additional evidence of increased asthma risk in children and adults given acetaminophen.

The study's lead author told Reuters Health, while this type of study isn't the best way to prove that the medication actually causes the illness, it does show that the relationship should be investigated further.

"We know acetaminophen affects inflammatory cell...

Stubborn asthma may signal poor use of meds

2010-04-16T09:40:49Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with difficult-to-control asthma are often not taking their anti-asthma medication as prescribed by their doctor, new study findings indicate.

Even when prescribed high doses of steroids, about 5 percent of adults with asthma remain difficult to control, with persistent symptoms and frequent flare-ups, Dr. Liam G. Heaney at

Neurotic? It could lead to asthma

2010-04-16T09:41:52Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who are neurotic -- they tend to worry a lot and to have emotional ups and downs -- seem to be at increased risk of developing asthma, a new study hints. Those who suffer through a divorce or other relationship conflict are also at risk for asthma, according to the study.

Animal studies have shown that chronic stress alters hormone levels, which can inflame airways making it difficu...

Weather shifts may spark asthma attacks in kids

2010-04-16T10:11:26Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who say their asthma gets worse when the weather changes are on to something, new research hints.

Dr. Alan Baptist of the University of Michigan School of Medicine in Ann Arbor and his colleagues found that pediatric emergency de...

Beliefs: Why some don't use asthma meds as directed

2010-04-16T10:36:32Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People's beliefs about the benefits and risks of their asthma medication may be key to their willingness to take it as directed, a new study finds.

The study, published in the Annals of Asthma, Allergy &amp; Immunology, looked at adherence to inhaled corticosteroid medication among 261 low- income, minority asthma patients.

Inhaled corticosteroids reduce inflammation in the a...

Experts question study's asthma drug safety claim

2010-04-16T10:44:11Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - An author of a new industry-funded study on the safety of a commonly prescribed type of inhaled asthma drug says the findings should be "reassuring" to patients who use them. However, two researchers who have published studies of their own on the medications disagree.

The medications involved are called long-acting beta agonists, and they include

Web-based care may improve asthma control

2010-04-16T11:14:23Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with asthma may be able to better manage their symptoms with the help of Web-based resources and interactivity, a study published Monday suggests.

In a year-long study of 200 adults with asthma, researchers found that adding Internet-based consultations to routine care helped patients better control their symptoms day-to-day.

Compared with patients who stayed with standard car...

Sleep disorder linked to behavior woes in some kids

2010-04-16T11:24:15Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is associated with behavior problems in children with asthma, researchers have found.

"Studies have linked asthma symptoms with both childhood behavior problems and troubled sleep," according to the study team, and there is "growing, but limited, evidence that children with SDB may have worse behavior."

Dr. Maria Fagnano and colleagues from the

Social factors influence neighborhood asthma rates

2010-04-16T11:31:23Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Childhood asthma is less common in neighborhoods with high economic potential and strong community vitality, new research shows.

"It's nice to be able to look at some positive characteristics of neighborhoods that may protect against asthma," Dr. Ruchi S. Gupta, of Reuters Health) - Children who are overweight at age 6 to 7 years are at increased risk for having symptoms of asthma like shortness of breath and "twitchy" airways when they are 8 years old, results of a study conducted in the Netherlands show.

However, children who are overweight at a younger age but reach a normal weight by age 6 to 7 do not appear to...

Device helps ease severe asthma without drugs

2010-04-16T12:15:16Z

CHICAGO (Reuters) - An experimental asthma treatment that uses heat to reduce airway constriction provided some relief from severe asthma that is poorly controlled with medications, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

They said the Alair device, made by privately held Beverly Dove holds a sign as she speaks during a city council meeting in Berkeley, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010. The council in this famously liberal city is considering a resolution Tuesday night bestowing hero status on Pfc. Bradley Manning, the soldier at the center of the