There are usually reasons or risk factors that predispose you to asthma and respiratory problems. Asthma does not just happen randomly to anyone without asthma risk factors.
Let’s look at some asthma risk factors and see how they increase the chance that a person will have the asthma symptoms of cough, wheezing, and shortness of breath associated with the disease. After determining your personal risk factors for asthma, decide on the ones you can control and try to make some lifestyle changes. Avoidance of the risk factors you can control is crucial in preventing asthma symptoms. While you cannot change your gender or family history, you can avoid smoking with asthma, breathing polluted air, and obesity. Take control of your asthma — by controlling your asthma risk factors. By understanding all the risk factors, you may be able to prevent or control your asthma.
Gender and Asthma
Childhood asthma occurs more frequently in boys than in girls. It’s unknown why this occurs although some experts find a young male’s airway size is smaller when compared to the female’s airway, which may contribute to increased risk of wheezing after a cold or other viral infection. Around age 20, the ratio of asthma between men and women is the same. At age 40, more females than males have adult asthma.
Family History of Asthma
Blame Mom or Dad or both for your asthma. Your inherited genetic makeup predisposes you to having asthma. In fact, it’s thought that three-fifths of all asthma cases are hereditary. According to a CDC report, if a person has a parent with asthma, he or she is three to six times more likely to develop asthma than someone who does not have a parent with asthma.
Airway Hyperreactivity and Asthma
It appears that having airway hyperreactivity is another risk factor for asthma, although researchers are not sure why this is true. In asthma, the airways are hyperreactive and become inflamed when they meet such asthma triggers as allergens or cold air. Not all people with airway hyperreactivity develop asthma, but in those who do have it, the airway hyperreactivity appears to increase the risk of asthma.
Atopy and Asthma
Atopy means allergic hypersensitivity that affects different parts of the body that do not come in contact with allergens, substances that trigger the body’s allergic reaction. Atopy can include eczema (atopic dermatitis), allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, and asthma.
Studies indicate that 40% to 50% of children with eczema or atopic dermatitis develop asthma. Some findings indicate that children with atopic dermatitis may have more severe and persistent asthma as adults.
Allergies Linked to Asthma
Allergies and asthma often coexist. Indoor allergies are a predictor of who might be at risk for an asthma diagnosis. One nationwide study showed levels of bacterial toxins called endotoxins in house dust were directly related to asthma symptoms and use of asthma inhalers, bronchodilators, and other asthma drugs.
Sources of other indoor allergens include animal proteins (particularly cat and dog allergens), dust mites, cockroaches, and fungi. Changes that have made houses more “energy-efficient” over the years are thought to increase exposure to these causes of asthma.
Environmental Factors and Asthma
Indoor air pollution such as cigarette smoke, mold, and noxious fumes from household cleaners and paints can cause allergic reactions and asthma. Environmental factors such as pollution, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, ozone, cold temperatures, and high humidity are all known to trigger asthma in susceptible individuals. In fact, asthma symptoms and hospital admissions are greatly increased during periods of heavy air pollution. Ozone is the major destructive ingredient in smog. It causes coughing, shortness of breath, and even chest pain — and can boost the susceptibility to infection. Sulfur dioxide, another component of smog, also irritates the airways and constricts the air passages, resulting in asthma attacks.
Gas stoves are the primary source of indoor nitrogen dioxide. Studies show that people who cook with gas are more likely to have wheezing, breathlessness, asthma attacks, and hay fever than those who cook with other methods. It is estimated that more than half of the households in the U.S. use gas stoves.
Weather changes can also result in asthma attacks in some people. For instance, cold air causes airway congestion and an increase in mucus production. Increases in humidity may also cause breathing difficulty in a certain population.
Cigarette Smoke Is an Asthma Risk Factor
Several studies confirm that cigarette smoking is linked with an increased risk for developing asthma. There’s also evidence that cigarette smoking among adolescents increases the risk of asthma. Even more findings link secondhand smoke exposure with the development of asthma in early life.
The Link Between Obesity and Asthma
A review of seven studies revealed that asthma was 38% more common in overweight adults (those with a BMI greater than 25 but less than 30) and nearly twice as common among obese adults (those with a BMI of 30 or greater). Researchers thought that this risk might be greater for nonallergic asthma than allergic asthma.
Pregnancy and Asthma
Maternal smoking during pregnancy appears to result in lower lung function in infants compared to those whose mothers did not smoke. Premature birth is also a risk factor for developing asthma.
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Top 6 Asthma Risk Factors
14 million adults and 6 million children in the US alone suffer from asthma. Wondering if asthma might be in your future or your child’s future?
Risk factors are certain personal traits or events that increase the likelihood that you will experience a specific disease or a condition associated with a disease. Look at this list of top asthma risk factors to decide if you or your child may develop asthma at some point in the future. If your risk is high, take steps to avoid the factors you can.
1. Family History of Asthma
Having a parent or sibling with asthma means you have a high risk of developing asthma yourself..
2. Living in Urban Areas
People who live in urban areas are exposed to air pollution on a daily basis and are more likely to develop asthma. There are also more cockroaches in urban areas. Cockroach sensitivity is a common trigger for asthma..
3. Exposure to Secondhand Smoke
People who live with someone who smokes or have frequent, prolonged exposure to secondhand smoke (such as in a work setting) are at a much higher risk for developing asthma. So, parents should never smoke around their children or even in the same house. Even better, they should quit!.
4. Low Birth Weight
Children who were smaller than the norm at birth, such as those born early, are also at higher risk for asthma..
5. Other Health Problems
Adults who also have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), are obese, and / or have chronic sinusitis carry a higher than usual risk for being diagnosed with asthma..
6. Exposure to Irritants on the Job
If you are exposed to certain chemicals or other irritating substances on a regular basis at work, you could be at risk for developing occupational asthma. Risky occupations may include farming, hairdressing, and paint, steel, plastics, and electronics manufacturing.
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Adult Asthma Risk Factors
According to a major national 2001 survey, American adults have a 10% lifetime risk for developing asthma. As of 2002, an estimated 20 million adults had the disorder. Between 1980 and 1996 the prevalence of asthma increased by nearly 74%, but it may be stabilizing. Other respiratory diseases, sinusitis, and ear infections are also on the rise, suggesting that airborne or environmental factors may be at work that affects all of these conditions, including asthma.
Gender
Before puberty, asthma occurs more often in males, but after adolescence, it appears to be more common in females. In adults with similar cases of actual airway obstruction, women are likely to report more severe symptoms than men are. In addition, women may be at much greater risk of death from asthma than men.
Obesity
In both adults and children, the incidence of obesity and asthma has been increasing in parallel over recent years. Studies report a strong association between the two conditions. Some experts suggest that excess weight pressing on the lungs may trigger the hyperreactive response in the airways typical of asthma. Others believe that asthma leads to obesity by inhibiting physical activity, although several studies have found no difference in activity levels between people with or without asthma. Some studies suggest that many obese people may be misdiagnosed as having asthma when in fact they are simply short of breath, possibly because of the increased effort required for breathing.
In any case, there is evidence that losing weight can relieve asthma symptoms. Some evidence also suggests that people who are overweight, (body mass index greater than 25), have more difficulty getting their asthma under control. Weight loss in anyone who is obese and has asthma or shortness of breath reduces airway obstruction and improves lung function. [See In-Depth Report #53: Weight control and diet.]
Smoking
In one study of elderly people with severe adult-onset asthma, smoking was the most significant risk factor for developing this condition. Smoking, in any case, contributes to decline in lung function in everyone.
Population Differences
Urban Life and Poverty. African Americans have higher rates of asthma than Caucasian Americans or other ethnic groups. They are also more likely to die of the disease. Ethnicity and genetics, however, are less likely to play a role in these differences than socioeconomic differences, such as having less access to optimal health care. Poverty is a consistent risk factor in most studies. Both the elderly and the urban poor have the highest risk for severe asthma and death. Urban life, in fact, has been associated with a higher risk for asthma in all income groups and among both children and adults. Twin studies also suggest that people who have lower educational levels (as well as those who exercise less) are at higher risk for adult-onset asthma, further suggesting a link to lower economic status.
Geographical Differences. Asthma rates vary widely among different populations regardless of socioeconomic or other factors. For example, asthma and hospitalization rates are dramatically higher in New York Puerto Ricans than in Hispanic Americans who live in Los Angeles or the Southwest. Among the U.S. states, rates are lowest in Louisiana and highest in Maine.
There are significant differences among nations. In a major study of 22 nations published in 2001, the countries with the highest asthma rates were Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. (According to another study, asthma rates are also significantly higher in Canadian adults than they are in comparable European groups.) Low rates were reported in Iceland, Norway, Spain, Germany, Italy, Algeria, India, and Eastern European nations. The reasons for these variations are still unknown.