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Murine Model of Allergen Induced Asthma
Published on: May 14, 2012
Asthma risk factors
Elina Toskala1, David W Kennedy2
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA.
Insights
Childhood asthma is rising due to complex gene-environment interactions. Environmental factors like pollution and genetic susceptibility significantly increase asthma risk, highlighting an imbalance in modern living.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric respiratory health
- Environmental medicine
- Genetics of asthma
Background:
- Childhood asthma prevalence is increasing globally, affecting 6-9% of children.
- Asthma is a complex genetic disorder influenced by environmental factors, imposing significant societal burdens.
- Despite research, the genetic basis of asthma remains incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review risk factors for atopic and nonatopic asthma.
- To examine environmental and genetic influences on asthma development in children and adults.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of asthma risk factors.
- Inclusion of environmental risk factors and genetic studies.
Main Results:
- Environmental factors like air pollution, tobacco smoke, and occupational exposures increase asthma risk.
- Atopy, stress, and obesity are identified as risk factors in genetically susceptible individuals.
- Asthma results from a maladaptive gene-environment interaction, particularly during early life.
Conclusions:
- The rising asthma prevalence suggests an imbalance between modern environments and human immunity, leading to inflammation.
- Exposure to allergens and environmental factors triggers airway inflammation, contributing to the asthma and allergy epidemic.
- Otolaryngologists should understand asthma's etiology, evaluation, and management due to its link with chronic rhinosinusitis.
Background:
Bronchial asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in childhood, with a current prevalence of 6% to 9%, but a prevalence that is increasing at an alarming rate. Asthma is a complex genetic disorder with strong environmental influence. It imposes a growing burden on our society in terms of morbidity, quality of life, and healthcare costs. Despite large-scale efforts, only a few asthma genes have been confirmed, suggesting that the genetic underpinning of asthma is highly complex.
Methods:
A review of the literature was performed regarding atopic and nonatopic asthma risk factors, including environmental risk factors and genetic studies in adults and children.
Results:
Several environmental risk factors have been identified to increase the risk of developing asthma such as exposure to air pollution and tobaccos smoke as well as occupational risk factors. In addition atopy, stress, and obesity all can increases the risk for asthma in genetically susceptible persons.
Conclusion:
Asthma represents a dysfunctional interaction with our genes and the environment to which they are exposed, especially in fetal and early infant life. The increasing prevalence of asthma in all age groups indicate that our living environment and immunity are in imbalance with each other reacting with airway inflammation to the environmental exposures and often non-harmful proteins, such as allergens causing the current "asthma and allergy epidemic." Because of the close relationship between asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis, it is important that otolaryngologists have a good understanding of asthma, the etiologic factors associated with disease, and its evaluation and management.
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