Asthma In The Air - Environmental Triggers

Asthma onset and the frequency and severity of asthma attacks may be more linked to what’s in the air than previously supposed, according to several new studies out this year. Childhood asthma affects an increasing number of children worldwide, and many studies are trying to figure out who ends up suffering from this disease and what may be exacerbating their symptoms.

Pollen and mold in the air during a baby’s first few months of life seem to be one predisposing factor. Links between a baby’s month of birth and their chances of eventually coming down with asthma have long been known, with babies born in the fall and winter months most susceptible. It was thought that early exposure to cold and flu viruses could be at fault. A study conducted in California’s Salinas Valley, an area with wet, moldy winters, suggests that pollen and mold may be the causative factor. Children born in the late fall-early winter, or late winter-early spring months, were at triple the risk of contracting asthma. These times corresponded exactly with the highest counts of circulating pollen and mold spores.

Asthmatic children in Baltimore, Maryland had the air quality inside their homes monitored in a 2008 study. The levels of fine particulate matter and coarse particulate matter were measured, and correlated to the frequency and severity of the children`s asthma attacks. Perhaps not surprisingly, the measurements matched up – higher particulate pollution inside the home was proven to be a trigger for allergy asthma.

The link between asthma and pollution went a layer deeper in a groundbreaking study undertaken in New York City. Pregnant women in high traffic areas were recruited to wear air monitors that measured the amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), a by-product of car exhaust. Then samples of umbilical cord blood were taken at birth, and the babies` white blood cells were analyzed for changes to a gene involved in proper lung development. There was a conclusive link between maternal PAH exposure and changes to this gene. It also corresponded well to the later diagnosis of asthma in the children. This is an example of epigenetic change, where pollutants that pass the placenta can affect a baby`s genetic development and later life.

Air pollution of all sorts – industrial, natural, indoor and outdoor – seem not only to be a trigger for incidents of allergy asthma, but a cause of asthma`s onset and development from a child`s earliest days. The evidence is clear – the more we clean up the air we breathe, the more of us will breathe easier.

Tony Berryman is a freelance writer and registered massage therapist in Vancouver, Canada. Find out more at tonyberryman.com.