According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, asthma is characterized by inflammation of the air passages resulting in the temporary narrowing of the airways that transport air from the nose and mouth to the lungs. Asthma symptoms can be caused by allergens or irritants that are inhaled into the lungs, resulting in inflamed, clogged and constricted airways. Symptoms include difficulty breathing, wheezing, coughing tightness in the chest. In severe cases, asthma can be deadly.

- There is no cure for asthma, but asthma can be managed with proper prevention and treatment.

- Asthma has a genetic component. If only one parent has asthma, chances are 1 in 3 that each child will have asthma. If both parents have asthma, it is much more likely (7 in 10) that their children will have asthma.

- More Americans than ever before say they are suffering from asthma. It is one of this country’s most common and costly diseases.

Obese pregnant women place their children at a high risk for developing asthma when they are born as compared to mothers whose weights and BMI’s are normal during their pregnancy. This has been found out in a large study in Sweden.

The study covered around 129,000 mothers in Stockholm and their 189,000 children. The researchers were able to find out that those mothers whose BMI were at least 35 had a significant increase of 61% risk for their children to develop and suffer from asthma when they reach the age between 8 to 9.

According to Adrian Lowe of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and University of Melbourne, “We found that there was a clear increased risk of childhood asthma, medication use and hospitalization with increasing degree of obesity and overweight in mothers in early pregnancy.”

As for the obese mothers in general, they had 41% increased risk compared to normal mothers, and those who were overweight by a little margin have 18% greater risk. “The results suggest that campaigns to reduce obesity prior to conception may have a beneficial effect on childhood asthma,” said Lowe.

In a previous news about asthma, it was said that a mother’s exposure to airborne pollutants may increase the chance for her unborn child to suffer from asthma later in life. In the Danish study in which registry data of about 45,658 seven-year old children, those whose mothers were exposed to low-molecular-weight particles are 18.6 % at greater risk for asthma compared to the general population rate of 16.1%.

“Results like these should always be interpreted with caution since they may be caused by confounding from other lifestyle factors that are not easily adjusted for,” said Dr. Klaus Bonnelykke who was not part of the research group. However, he added that “there is increasing evidence that the prenatal period may be a critical period affecting the offspring’s risk for later development of asthma and other (allergic) diseases.”

In the said study, Dr. Berit Christensen and his colleagues made use of the job description of the mothers to ascertain their exposure to workplace pollutants. After considering the participants’ age, body mass index, allergy and hypersensitivities, and other factors, there was still a slightly higher risk at about 11%.

“This is the first large-scale study which has shown an association between maternal exposures during work and asthma in children,” according to Dr. Christensen in a statement. “Whilst a link has been found, our results at this stage are modest and further research is needed into specific chemicals and substances to determine those that could be most harmful.”

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