According to a
new study out of the United Kingdom, first-born babies carry a higher risk for developing both asthma and allergies. Why? Well, it seems conditions in the mother's womb the first time around tend to be different than they are for succeeding pregnancies.
Apparently. birth order affects several immune markers, which leads to immune system development issues that persist as long as until age 10 years. Wow! That's pretty intriguing, isn't it?
Here are the study highlights:
- 1,200 newborns form the Isle of Wight were studied
- Cord blood IgE was sampled (IgE is an indicator of allergic disease)
- Skin prick tests were conducted at ages four and 10
- In first-borns, a specific gene variant was linked to a higher risk of having increased cord-blood IgE
- The higher risk persisted in first-born children at both age 4 and age 10; other ages did not have the same results
Researchers stated that this study suggests that if prenatal priming (setting up the gene changes that increase allergic risk) could be changed during a first pregnancy, the risk of asthma in those newborns might be able to be reduced by as much as 20 to 30 percent. Interesting concept, but I suspect there's a long way to go before we get there.
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Asthma is an extremely common condition these days – over 20 million people in the United States alone have diagnoses asthma. And it's likely that quite a few more have asthma that hasn't yet been diagnosed.
Because asthma is so common and even family doctors and pediatricians are used to treating large numbers of patients with asthma, it's easy to forget that expert consultation might make a huge difference in the degree of asthma control you achieve, not to mention the quality of your life, or that of your child.
I think all people with asthma would benefit from seeing an asthma specialist at some point. There can be different medical specialties that are considered experts in treating asthma, including allergists, immunologists and pulmonologists. Asthma specialists can help you pinpoint more exactly what is triggering your asthma symptoms through allergy testing. They will also be most knowledgeable about which treatment approach will work best.
When you work with doctors, remember that you have both a right AND a responsibility to be a completely equal partner in your care. You know your body best and you should be involved in all decision-making, rather than being a passive participant in your treatment plan. Make sure you read and learn about your disease so that you can make informed decisions, with your doctor's help.
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