A new research says the season when the baby is born may determine whether he or she is prone to asthma. There is a 30 percent risk of asthma for a baby who is born in the virus season just before severe winter as compared to those born in other seasons according to a study the reports of which will be published in the American Journal, of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine’s December issue.
A senior study author and director of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tenn’s Center for Asthma Research and Environmental Health Dr. Tina Hartert says that there is a high rate of asthma among children born in the fall months in the Northern Hemisphere which shows that certain viruses prevalent in winter like RSV could be causing this. She added that if we work towards prevention of these viruses, asthma in children can also be effectively prevented.
One of the most common infections is caused by the RSV or Respiratory Syncytial Virus. According to Hartert, at least 70 percent of infants suffered from RSV infection in US before they complete a year. Only those with severe infection carry the risk of asthma. Statistics show that at least forty percent of infants who are hospitalized for treatment of respiratory virus develop asthma as they approach their teen years.
Infants who were monitored for this study were followed from their birth through their childhood on to their teen years as a part of the Tennessee Medicaid Program.
