Recognition and Treatment of the Child With Acute Asthma in the Community

World Asthma Day is May 1st!!! Come and learn about the latest recommendations for the treatment of acute asthma in children. The session can be accessed through telehealth or in person at the Children's Asthma Education Centre. Call 787-1293 for more information.

Drinking Large Amounts Of Soft Drinks Associated With Asthma And COPD

A new study published in the journal Respirology reveals that a high level of soft drink consumption is associated with asthma and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Led by Zumin Shi, MD, PhD, of the University of Adelaide, researchers conducted computer assisted telephone interviewing among 16,907 participants aged 16 years and older in South Australia between March 2008 and June 2010 inquiring about soft drink consumption. Soft drinks comprised Coke, lemonade, flavored mineral water, Powerade, and Gatorade etc.

Results showed that one in ten adults drink more than half a liter of soft drink daily in South Australia. The amount of soft drink consumption is associated with an increased chance of asthma and/or COPD. There exists a dose-response relationship, which means the more soft drink one consumes, the higher the chance of having these diseases.

Overall, 13.3% of participants with asthma and 15.6% of those with COPD reported consuming more than half a liter of soft drink per day.

The odds ratio for asthma and COPD was 1.26 and 1.79, comparing those who consumed more than half a liter of soft drink per day with those who did not consume soft drinks.

Furthermore, smoking makes this relationship even worse, especially for COPD. Compared with those who did not smoke and consume soft drinks, those that consumed more than half a liter of soft drink per day and were current smokers had a 6.6-fold greater risk of COPD.

"Our study emphasizes the importance of healthy eating and drinking in the prevention of chronic diseases like asthma and COPD," Zumin concludes.

Source:  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241332.php

Pool chlorine tied to lung damage in elite swimmers-study

Click on the link below to read an interesting article about elite swimmers and asthma.  There are a few important points to keep in mind:

• Good asthma control is most  important.  If asthma is well controlled, athletes can compete at the very highest level of their sport.

• Airway inflammation due to chlorine exposure has been seen in elite athletes who spend many hours per week swimming competitively in a pool. These changes have not been  seen in recreational swimmers. 

• These changes in airway inflammation are seen when doing special breathing tests.  Although changes can be seen in test results, they do not seem to cause asthma symptoms for the swimmer.

• Some children are considered to be at risk of developing asthma because they are allergic to things in the environment or have a parent or sibling with asthma.  Researchers don’t know if spending a lot of time in chlorinated water will increase that child’s risk of developing asthma problems.   For most children, the warm moist air from a pool makes it a very good sport to take up.

• Similar changes have also been seen in Olympic athletes who compete in cold dry air, such as cross country skiers.  The depth and rate of breathing leads to the athlete breathing in many more allergens (for example pollens and mold) and dust particles than the non-competitive person.  These particulates can be irritating to the airways and cause asthma symptoms. Despite this, these athletes are able to compete at the very highest level of their sport.

Remember, to “Ask the Researcher” your questions if you have any!

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/12/health-swimmers-idUSL3E8CC0KO20120112

September Asthma Rates seen in January

Admissions to the Children's Hospital Emergency Room have been much higher this December and January than what is expected for this time of year. Click on the link below to hear Dr. Becker discuss how this year's weather is raising havoc for some asthma sufferers.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2012/01/09/mb-snow-mould-allergies-manitoba.html

The risk of developing food allergy in premature or low birth-weight children.

Researchers know that children born pre-maturely or children born very small, have an immature immune system and immature digestive system.  Despite this, their immune system is able to respond to some things “normally”, for example, vaccines.  Researchers have many questions about how pre-mature and low birth weight infants respond when exposed to food allergens. 

Some researchers have assumed that children born with immature immune and digestive systems are more prone to developing food allergies.

Our Research Question:  Are children born pre-maturely or born with low birth weight more at risk of developing food allergies compared to normal-birth-weight children?

SAGE researchers looked at the health records of all children born in Manitoba in 1995.  Children were divided into groups based on * gestational age and * weight at birth.

Researchers then looked at the number of children in each group that had food allergies. Children who had had a hospital or emergency room admission for food allergy or a prescription for an Epinephrine auto-injector (Epipen or Twinject) before the age of 7 were considered food allergic.

*Gestational age refers to how far along the mother was in her pregnancy at the time of birth (30 weeks, 35 weeks, 40 weeks).  Children born at 37 weeks or less were considered pre-mature.

* Low birth weight refers to children who weigh less than 2500 grams at birth

Findings:

Almost 14 000 children were born in Manitoba in 1995. 

6.3% were born prematurely

4.9 % were born with a low birth weight 

2.06% of the premature/low birth weight children had food allergy by the time they were 7 years old.

The rate of food allergy in the premature/low birth weight group was the same as the rate of food allergy in normal children.

Many doctors have suggested to parents of pre-mature and low birth weigh babies not feed them solids before 6 months of age, milk or eggs before 1 year and peanuts and fish before age 3, believing that this would help prevent the development of food allergies. 

In this study, pre-mature children who ate these food before the recommended age did not have a higher rate of food allergy.

Risk factors for developing food allergy were: having a mother with asthma or food allergies, having a higher income and being a boy.

Conclusion:

Pre-maturity and low birth weight did not increase a child’s risk of developing food allergy. 

Delaying certain foods until a certain age did not decrease the risk of  developing food allergy. More research needs to be done to see if delaying certain foods until later in life increases or decreases the risk of food allergy.

The risk of developing food allergy in premature or low birth-weight children.

Liem JJ, Kozyrskyj AL, Huq SI, Becker AB. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2007 May;119(5):1203-9. Epub 2007 Mar 26