Low birthweight, environmental tobacco smoke, and air pollution: Risk factors for childhood asthma?

This study discusses childhood asthma as an increasing problem in Western culture, We present data from the PRAD [Psychosocial Risks for Allergy Development]-Project, which is a longitudinal study that has been running the last 14 years. When the subjects were 7-10 years old, the parents answered questionnaires about smoking, air pollution, behavior (via the Child Behavior Check List), and symptoms of allergy/asthma. Information about birthweight was also gathered. In this study, the risk of developing asthma was as high in controls as it was in smoking families, IgE from umbilical blood had no predictive value for symptoms at the ages of seven-ten, As far as the risk for receiving an asthma diagnosis, we found statistically significant differences in birthweights for boys but not for girls, We discuss the meaning of emotional climate, attitude, and ''psychosomatic relationship'' in relation to this data, (Pediatr Asthma Allergy 1997;11[2]:95-102.)