Childhood eczema increases chance of asthma

by William Atkins

Tuesday, 08 July 2008

Page 1 of 2 ! Australian health scientist John A. Burgess led the study concerning the link between childhood eczema and asthma, finding specifically that eczema in childhood leads to a more likely chance of asthmatic conditions later in life. Eczema is a type of dermatitis, or inflammation of the upper layers of the skin. The condition is widely applied to many different types of persistent skin conditions. One major condition is  dryness and recurring skin rashes, which are characterized by one or more of these symptoms: redness, itching and dryness, swelling, crusting, flaking, blistering and cracking, oozing, or bleeding. The results of the Burgess study was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: “Childhood eczema and asthma incidence and persistence: A cohort study from childhood to middle age ” (published online on June 24, 2008). The authors of the study were: John A. Burgess, Shyamali C. Dharmage, Graham B. Byrnes, Melanie C. Matheson, Lyle C. Gurrin, Cathryn L. Wharton, David P. Johns, Michael J. Abramson, John L. Hopper, and E. Haydn Walters In the paper, the authors acknowledge the evidence that eczema and asthma have been linked in the past by a wealth of scientific information. Asthma is a chronic condition involving the respiratory system in which the airways of the lungs become constricted, inflamed, and  lined with excessive amounts of mucus. Asthma is often brought on by various factors such as tobacco smoke, cold or hot air, pets, pefume, humid air, emotional stress, exercise. With this known association between eczema and asthma, the researchers decided to show the sequence of this association; that is, the one condition (childhood eczema), which develops before the other (asthma), may be a predictor condition—one that predicts the onset of another condition. In their study, the authors examined the link “between childhood eczema and asthma incidence from preadolescence to middle age” and “between childhood eczema and asthma persisting to middle age.” The researchers used data from the Tasmanian Longitudinal Health Study (TLHS), which was a series of three surveys conducted in 1968, 1974, and 2004. They used 8,500 Tasmanian residents from childhood to the point at which they developed allergic conditions. In their paper, they stated that childhood eczema was “significantly associated with childhood asthma and with incident asthma in preadolescence … and adult life." In fact, the researchers found that “childhood eczema means that children have nearly a twice the chance of getting asthma later in life.” They concluded, “Childhood eczema increased the likelihood of childhood asthma, of new-onset asthma in later life and of asthma persisting into middle age.” Dr. Burgess comments on his study in page two. << First page <   1 2 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>

 

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