Pollen season babies at more risk of asthma
Babies who are exposed to high levels of pollen during the first few months of life are up to three times more likely to become wheezy before age two, a new study claims.
Researchers from the University of California found that babies born between mid-February and March 2000, and between late August 2000 and early January 2001, were at a much greater risk of becoming wheezy than those born outside of those months.
These months coincided with periods where pollen counts and levels of fungal spores in the environment were at their peak.
For the study, which is published in Thorax, a British Medical Journal publication, 514 children were tracked from birth to the age of two, with signs of early wheezing confirmed by medical records and levels of specific types of T cells measured in blood samples. T-cells are blood cells that are involved in causing the airways of asthma sufferers to narrow, causing wheezing or an asthma attack.
Thirty-five of the children in the study were diagnosed with wheeze by the age of two. Factors such as environmental tobacco smoke, poverty and lower respiratory tract infections during the first year of life are all linked to an increased risk of early wheezing. However, the research also found a clear pattern between asthma, wheeze and birth month.
Dr Elaine Vickers, research relations manager at Asthma UK, said, 'Although these results are interesting, it's important to remember that this was a relatively small study conducted among a very specific group of people. The researchers were unable to examine the children's exposure to viruses, making it difficult to draw strong conclusions regarding the effects of pollen and fungi.
'However, we do know that fungi and pollen trigger symptoms in many people with asthma, and that they should avoid these triggers wherever possible.'
