Asthma. Prenatal influences on immune development in childhood

The prevalence of asthma has increased significantly in the last decades, particularly among children and adolescents. Both this increase and the development of childhood asthma are probably the result of a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors that influence a child's immunological determination from early on, if not already in utero. Genetic and epigenetic factors are likely to be involved in this complex network. These complex effects on early immune development in children can have various consequences, such as the development of allergic asthma or temporary forms which develop over a number of years. However, a child may also be protected against the development asthma. These complex influences/effects can begin in the prenatal phase influencing the likelihood of later development of immune or other diseases.