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Childhood Asthma, Allergies Linked to Secondhand SmokeMarch 9, 2006
Research Summary
An immune response triggered by secondhand smoke could cause some children to develop asthma and allergies, according to researchers at Pittsburgh's Allegheny General Hospital.
Presenting at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, researcher Deborah Gentile and colleagues said that exposure to secondhand smoke may cause children to overproduce interleukin-13 (IL-13), a chemical linked to both allergies and childhood asthma. The findings were based on studies of 32 children ages 1-6, including 16 who were exposed to secondhand smoke. The smoke-exposed children had more activated immune cells (T helper lymphocytes) than the non-exposed children.
"During infancy, the body's immune responses, including IL-13 production, are still developing and may be influenced by a variety of environmental factors, including secondhand smoke," said Gentile. "Recent studies have shown that production of IL-13 was increased in T helper lymphocytes, specialized immune cells, exposed to tobacco smoke."
About 10 percent of American children have asthma.
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