Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways in which many cells play a role, in particular mast cells, eosinophils and T lymphocytes. In susceptible individuals this inflammation causes recurrent episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and cough particularly at night and/or in the early morning.

Father-child link for severe asthma symptoms

Asthma :: Father-child link for severe asthma symptoms

Children with a paternal history of asthma demonstrated significantly greater airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR) than those without such history - wrote Dr. Benjamin Raby and colleagues in their study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

"Our findings suggest that the genetic contribution of the father is associated with AHR, an important determinant of disease severity among children with asthma."

The study did not find a linkage between maternal history of asthma and AHR, but did find that kids with two parents suffering from asthma were more at risk for AHR than were kids who had asthma-free parents.

The researchers note previous studies have drawn an association between mothers and children with asthma, but in those studies, the children were younger than in this one.

Recently posted related articles on Asthma :

1. Asthma :: Breastfed babies breathe better, except when mom has asthma
2. Asthma :: New approach to peak flow monitoring
3. Asthma :: Farm kids have lower risk of asthma, study
4. Asthma :: Household cleaning & spray cleaners linked to asthma
5. Asthma :: Even occasional use of spray cleaners may cause asthma in adults
6. Asthma :: Dysfunctional families & bad neighborhoods worsen asthma in children & adolescents
7. Asthma :: New national study links asthma to allergies
8. Asthma :: Black patients with asthma may fare worse regardless of disease severity
9. Asthma :: FDA proposing phase out of CFCs in metered-dose inhalers for epinephrine
10. Asthma :: Fruits, vegetables & fish reduce asthma & allergies