Register for Stress Exacerbates Condition in Children
AsthmaSeptember 25, 2000
(NewsRx.com) -- Researchers in Finland have determined that stressful situations increase the risk of new asthma attacks in children already at risk.
High levels of stress have been shown to predict the onset of asthma in children genetically at risk, and to correlate with higher asthma morbidity. In the September 16, 2000, issue of The Lancet, Seija Sandberg and colleagues set out to examine whether stressful experiences actually provoke new exacerbations in children who already have asthma.
A group of 90 patients aged six to 13 years with verified chronic asthma were prospectively followed for 18 months. Monitoring of asthma was achieved by the use of diaries and daily peak-flow values, together with interview assessments of life events and long-term psychosocial experiences.
The investigators found that severely negative life events, both on their own and in conjunction with high chronic stress, significantly increased the risk of new asthma attacks over the coming few weeks. This risk is magnified and brought forward in time if the child's life situation is also characterized by multiple chronic stressors, such as poor childcare abilities of parents, poor housing, and school problems. Examples of severe life events included death of a grandparent or break-up of a home through divorce.
Sandberg et al. say: "Because most of such chronic stresses occur in the child's home and school, and are either social or interpersonal by nature, perhaps a heightened sensitivity to such problems by professionals such as teachers, school nurses, family doctors, and pediatricians is called for. In cases where more complex psychosocial difficulties are identified within a family, there should be consultation with child mental-health services."
Dr. Seija Sandberg is with the HYKS Institute, Finland; tel: 00 358 9 4717 5496; fax: 00 358 9 4717 5447; e-mail: Seija.Sandberg@huch.fi.
This article was prepared by Health & Medicine Week editors from staff and other reports.
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