Vitamin D has effects on the innate and adaptive immune system. In asthmatic children low vitamin D levels are associated with poor asthma control, reduced lung function, increased medication intake, and exacerbations. Little is known about vitamin D in adult asthma patients or its association with asthma severity and control. For more about this, read…
If I were a virus, I think I’d like to be Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). What is that, you ask? Exactly my point. Our lungs are the only organ in our body that is exposed to the filth of our environment. Because of this, our lungs have to fight off bacteria, viruses…
Those who suffer from asthma may have a different mix of fungi in their lungs than those who do not, says a new study from researchers at the School of Medicine at Cardiff University in Wales. For the study, lead researcher Hugo van Woerden and his team analyzed the fungi in mucus from…
Environmental Health Your environment is everything around you—the air you breathe, the water you drink, the community you live in, the places where your food is grown or prepared, your workplace, and your home. When your environment is safe and healthy, you are more likely to stay healthy. But when your environment exposes…
Smoking rates are different from state to state. The percentage of people with asthma who smoke ranges from about 12% in Minnesota and Utah to about 32% in Kentucky. The states with the highest percentage of people with asthma who smoke are clustered in the Midwest and South regions. CDC’s National Asthma Control…
The study found that children born to parents who sought treatment for fertility issues were more likely to experience asthma, wheezing and to be taking asthma medication at the age of 5 than children who were conceived without medical intervention. The researchers did not find that the parents’ infertility treatments caused asthma in…
COPD Spirometry is fundamental to making a diagnosis of COPD and a confident diagnosis of COPD can only be made with spirometry. However, there is no single diagnostic test for COPD. Making a diagnosis relies on clinical judgement based on a combination of history, physical examination and confirmation of the presence of airflow…
Screening smokers with spirometry for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) picks up more cases than symptom-based detection, research suggests. The authors say the findings highlight the need for more screening in primary care, which is seldom used at present. “Despite current and updated GOLD [Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease] guidelines…