February 12, 2004
SickKids researchers find obesity not linked to asthma in children
TORONTO - Researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) have shown that there is no association between obesity and asthma in Canadian children age four to 11 years. Other risk factors for asthma in this age group were identified, including a maternal history of the disease. This research is reported in the February 2004 issue of The Journal of Pediatrics .
“Since the prevalence of asthma and obesity in children has increased and coincided over the past couple of decades, it had been suggested that the two conditions could be causally related. However, we found through our population-based study that this was not the case,” said Dr. Teresa To, the study's lead author, a senior scientist in the SickKids Research Institute, and an associate professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Toronto.
“We did find that a history of asthma in the mothers was a significant risk factor for asthma in both boys and girls, and that maternal symptoms of depression and being the only child were statistically significant risk factors among girls,” added Dr. To.
The research team used the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth collected by Statistics Canada in 1994-1995. Included in the analysis were 11,199 children, who had current, physician-diagnosed asthma and a body mass index greater than or equal to the 85 th percentile.
“It is important that we continue to investigate risk factors for the development of asthma as this is a health problem that affects nearly 10 per cent of Canadian children,” said Dr. Sharon Dell, a co-author of the study and a respiratory medicine specialist and associate scientist at SickKids.
This research was supported by The Hospital for Sick Children Foundation, and through investigator awards to Dr. To by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
The Hospital for Sick Children, affiliated with the University of Toronto, is Canada's most research-intensive hospital and the largest centre dedicated to improving children's health in the country. Its mission is to provide the best in family-centred, compassionate care, to lead in scientific and clinical advancement, and to prepare the next generation of leaders in child health. For more information, please visit www.sickkids.ca .
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