An unsettling new study has found that children two years old and under who took asthma medication had stunted growth.
The study, which involved 12,000 children of two years of age and under who take asthma medicine, found that they are likely to be shorter in adulthood than they would be otherwise, according to a Mirror report.
The study centers around what are known as inhaled corticosteroids, which are drugs used in inhalers that are meant to treat breathing conditions. Often, they are prescribed to very young children who suffer from the condition.
However, the study is bad news for those children, as the data showed they were short for their age and those problems would probably continue into adulthood. Essentially, the research shows that there is a link between long-term treatment of ICS and stunted growth in children who would have otherwise been healthy, said lead researcher Dr. Antti Saari according to the report. The study was conducted by the University of Eastern Finland and Kuopia University Hospital.
Corticosteroids have helped many asthma sufferers live relatively normal lives. They are administered via inhalers, which are often carried on the person in case of asthma attacks. However, no one had conducted a large study on how they affect children until now, and the news is obviously not good.
However, doctors cautioned that the results of the study shouldn’t stop them from giving their children the medicine, as it may save their life, whereas the interference on bone growth is relatively minor and certainly not life-threatening, unlike an asthma attack.
It’s not the first time a study has shown some negative impacts due to inhalers, with a 2012 probe finding that adults who had used steroid inhalers between the ages of five and 12 tended to be a half inch shorter than they would be otherwise.
As a result of the study, all children should get checked for their height and weight if they are taking the inhalers, according to a BBC report.
About one in 11 children in the United Kingdom has asthma — that makes it one of the most common medical conditions a child may face.
Corticosteroids are fairly strong medications, and they work in preventing potentially fatal asthma attacks in children, although many report side effects.
In all, children may see their height stunted by about 3 centimeters in adulthood based on the results of this study.
It’s difficult for the medical community to determine who to target for steroids and in whom it doesn’t work much at all. Many pre-school children wheeze but not all respond to such treatment from corticosteroids. Many also eventually grow out of asthma and don’t need any additional treatment, and a larger study will be necessary involving multiple types of young children to get to the bottom of that question.
Of course, parents should still err on the side of caution: if your child is wheezing or having difficulty breathing from apparent asthma symptoms, their first concern should not be the child’s growth. Take him or her to a doctor immediately, and recognize that asthma medications could save his or her life, doctors say.
Asthma is a very common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways that often results in airflow obstruction and bronchopasm, making it a potentially deadly disease for sufferers. Scientists don’t have all the answers for why asthma exists and what its root cause are, but it is thought to come from a combination of genetic as well as environmental factors.
Doctors typically diagnose asthma based on a number of symptoms, as well as how the patient responds to therapy and spirometry, which is a common pulmonary function tests that measures lung function and the amount of air and the speed of air that can be inhaled and exhaled.
Asthma symptoms include wheezing, shortness of breath, tightness in the chest cavity, and fits of coughing that may produce sputum from the lung. High levels of white blood cells called eosinophils may cause the sputum from the lung to look like it is pus, but it is not. Symptoms for asthma seem to be the worst at night or in the early morning, or in response to some strenuous physical activity. Sometimes it can also be brought on by exposure to cold air.
Some asthma sufferers actually rarely experience any symptoms at all, while others have their lives almost controlled by their constant symptoms that require nearly constant supervision and attention.
In addition, those with asthma also must deal with other complications and health conditions because of asthma. This includes gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD), rhinosinusitis, and also obstructive sleep apnea. Then there are psychological disorders that often crop up, such as anxiety disorders — found in between 16 and 52 percent of patients, and other mood disorders, which range in frequency from 14 to 41 percent. Scientists aren’t sure if it’s the asthma that causes the psychological problems, or if the psychological problems result in the asthma.
There are many potential causes of asthma, and the medical community has had some difficulty in isolating which are most to blame. Environmental factors are often pinpointed as a possible reason, particularly allergens and pollution that may inflame the airways. Environmental chemicals could also potentially cause problems. Or, smoking during pregnancy and after delivery could raise one’s risk of coming down with asthma.
Areas with high amounts of traffic pollution and ozone levels, leading to low air quality, are commonly held up as possible factors in asthma prevalence.
Then, there’s the use of acetaminophen, which is a bit more controversial. Most evidence doesn’t seem to support that this common painkiller is a cause although it has been theorized.
Exposure to indoor allergens like cockroaches, animal dander, or even mold has been associated with asthma. Some suspect that poor hygiene could also result in a higher incidence of asthma due to the spread of bacteria and viruses, especially during childhood.
But one should not downplay the role of genetics as a risk factor for asthma. Studies have found that in identical twins, when one has asthma, the other has a risk factor of 25 percent of also having it. Scientists have been able to pinpoint numerous genes that appear to be linked to asthma.
Medical conditions can also result in asthma. Atopic disease is the strongest risk factor for developing asthma. Atopic syndrome is a predisposition to developing hypersensitivity to allergens and having allergic reactions.