As rates of asthma and food allergies continue to rise, researchers are seeking to better understand, diagnose and treat the sometimes life-threatening conditions. Earlier this week, doctors, researchers and academics in the field gathered at the annual American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) conference in San Francisco to present some of the latest research. Here are some of the most interesting data they shared.
Research Roundup: Key Findings on Kids’ Asthma and Allergies
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Although some previous data had suggested that a woman's use of hormonal birth control pills before pregnancy could increase the risk of asthma in her children, a large new study of Norwegian mothers and children found that it does not. The researchers looked at what kinds of birth control pills women took before pregnancy — either combined estrogen-progestin pills or progestin-only pills — and tracked rates of lower respiratory tract infections, wheezing and asthma in their children. Tens of thousands of children were followed for 6 months to 3 years. Children of women who had used combination oral birth control pills saw no increase in respiratory problems, but the preliminary data suggested a small increase in risk of wheezing at 6 to 8 months in babies of mothers who had take progestin-only pills. "The small association with the much less commonly used progestin-only pill may not reflect cause and effect but does suggest that researchers look at these two types of pills separately in the future," said senior author Dr. Stephanie J. London, principal investigator at the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, in an AAAAI news release.
