Pregnant women who ignore asthma pass it on to kids

TORONTO - Women who avoid treating asthma during pregnancy are likely to transmit the condition to their offspring, say results from a study that examined more than 8,000 families in Canada.

A team from the University of Montral (U-M), Hpital du Sacr-Cur de Montral (HdSE) and Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Centre found that 32.6 percent of children born to mothers who ignored their asthma during pregnancy developed the respiratory illness themselves.

“Uncontrolled maternal asthma during pregnancy could trigger a transient yet important reaction in the foetus that affects lung development and could subsequently increase the likelihood of a baby developing asthma in later childhood,” warns Lucie Blais, U-M pharmacy professor and researcher at the HdSE.

As part of the study, the research team examined a decade of health records for 8,226 children - from birth to 10 years of age - born to asthmatic mothers. Parents of these children were also mailed questionnaires requesting additional facts concerning familial medical history, lifestyle, habits and environment.

“We found that failing to control maternal asthma during pregnancy clearly has an impact on asthma in offspring - a consequence that is independent of other contributing factors,” says Blais, according to an U-M release. “It is of great importance for physicians to adequately treat asthmatic mothers during pregnancy, not only for the favourable outcome of pregnancy but also for the benefit of the child.”

These findings were published in European Respiratory Journal.