Follow-up research into the prevention of asthma and allergy in relation to environmental factors in children of the first generation Environment and Health Support Centre

Asthma is one of the most common chronic conditions worldwide (Pearce et al. 2007). The diagnosis of asthma is based on clinical symptoms, such as recurrent periods of shortness of breath, cough and tightness in the chest. These symptoms are caused by inflammation of the respiratory tract. There are different forms of asthma, each with its own phenotype (e.g. allergic versus non-allergic asthma) and probably also its own aetiology and consequently a different prognosis for the treatment. Very little is known about this, as the cause of the disease is still unknown. Asthma is a multifactorial disease in which genetic factors, environment and lifestyle play an important role (Agrawal and Bharadwaj 2005; Bharadwaj and Agrawal 2004). To date, the clinical diagnosis of asthma, due to the difficult and/or invasive tests associated with it (lung function tests, bronchial biopsy), is only possible from the age of 6 years.

Publication year:2013

Accessibility:Open