Viral infections and common colds during pregnancy may increase the risk of asthma in children, a latest study suggests.
Researchers found that exposure to infections and bacteria during pregnancy can affect the in-utero environment. This can heighten the risk of asthma or other allergies in babies later.
"In addition, these same children that had early exposure to allergens, such as house dust and pet dander, had increased odds of becoming sensitized by age five," allergist Mitch Grayson, MD, Annals deputy editor and fellow of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), said in a press note released to EurekAlert.
"When dust mites from the mother and child's mattresses were examined, children with high dust mite exposure yet low bacteria exposure were more likely to be allergic to dust mites than those with low mite exposure and high bacteria contact."
For the study, the researchers examined 513 pregnant women in Germany and their 526 children. The mothers were interviewed during pregnancy, when the children were three and 12 months old, and every year up to five. It was found that if both parents have allergies the child has 75 percent chances of getting it. If one parent or close relative has allergies, the risk goes down to 40 to 30 percent, and the child has 10 to 15 percent chances of getting allergies if no one in the family has it. Of the families, 61 percent had a parent with asthma, hay fever or atopic dermatitis.
"We know that allergy and asthma can develop in the womb since genetics play a factor in both diseases," allergist Dr. Michael Foggs, president of ACAAI, said in a news release. "But this study sheds light about how a mother's environment during pregnancy can begin affecting the child before birth."
The findings are published in the journal Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
