CHICAGO – If your child is born in the 4 months before the peak cold and flu season, that child could have a 30 per cent higher risk of asthma, according to a new study out of the center for Asthma Research at Vanderbilt University. This research ties in closely with a recent study that suggests infants that have wheezed with a cold or virus before age 3 have a higher risk of asthma as well.

Dr Tina Hartert, director of the center for Asthma Research at Vanderbilt University, said that it has been known in the research and medical community that infants born in the northern hemisphere during the fall months have an increased risk of asthma. However, Hartert’s study is the first to tie together asthma risk with the peak viral activity in winter months and a fall birthday. Hartert and her colleagues reviewed medical records for almost 100,000 infants and mothers in Tennessee. Their results show that all infants having bronchiolitis were at higher risk of asthma than other infants, but autumn infants were at the highest additional risk.

Bronchiolitis is caused by a common virus, called RSV. RSV may be responsible for as much as 50 per cent of winter colds.

It is clear that genetic risk factors may predispose a child to asthma. However, researchers hypothesize that environmental exposure to viral infections may activate genes linked to asthma, which is why rates of asthma development could vary with the season of a child’s birth.

Researchers are setting their sights on a vaccine for RSV. At issue is that almost every baby will get RSV sometime in the first 6 months of life. The virus usually clears up without any complications. However, if this infection could be prevented, researchers believe that many cases of asthma could also be prevented.

Source: Reuters