Asthma specialists conducting a study at the Harvard Medical School tested more than 1000 children's lung function over an average of nine years. It provided an insight into the mechanisms involved in asthma development during the transition period between childhood and adulthood.
Asthma Definition
Asthma is a chronic condition involving the respiratory system in which the airways (bronchial tubes) occasionally constrict, become inflamed, and are lined with excessive amounts of mucus, often in response to an allergen, cold air, exercise or emotional stress. Symptoms include wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness and coughing. People with asthma have acute episodes when air passages in their lungs become narrower.
Asthma Statistics
Asthma and allergies strike 1 out of 4 Americans. Among the 20 million afflicted with the disease, nine million are children under 18 years of age. During 2004, there were 13.6 million physician office visits and 1 million outpatient department visits due to asthma. It accounts for one-quarter of all emergency room visits in the United States each year with 2 million emergency visits in 2001 alone. Approximately 44% of all asthma hospitalizations are for children.
Asthma and Gender
Asthma is less likely to be outgrown by girls than boys as they become adults. In the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, scientists say it points to an unknown mechanism behind the condition’s development. Asthma specialists said that sex hormones might play a role in the symptoms of the disease and its severity. The latest study found that while boys were more likely to wheeze in childhood, they were also likely to shed these symptoms once they become adolescents. According to Dr. Kelan Tantisira, who led the study, it was the first time that the gender difference in asthma has been documented this way.
Asthma Study
Asthma was the focus of the study which enrolled 1,000 children between five and 12 years old, all of whom had mild to moderate asthma. In annual tests during the nine years, the children were given a drug to cause airway narrowing and the scientists noted the dosage that was needed to do this. While the amount of the drug used in girls did not change much over time, in many of the boys, bigger and bigger doses were need year on year, suggesting that the severity of their asthma was decreasing. By the age of 18, only 14 percent of the girls did not react to the drug, compared with 27 percent of boys.
Asthma Study Follow Up
Asthma scientists plan to follow the children into adulthood to see how their lung function changes over time. They point to intriguing potential mechanisms to explain the gender differences in asthma incidence and severity as the transition seems to begin at the time of early puberty. The study also demonstrates how these processes can be influenced which will help to develop new targeted therapies for asthma sufferers.
Source: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
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