The spread of poor diets with large amounts of processed food, fat and refined sugar could be leading to increasing levels of inflammation in the body and, as a result, contributing to increased asthma prevalence, say researchers. The researchers looked at the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) in people with asthma compared with healthy controls…
Exercise might help reduce the risk of hospital readmission in people with a progressive lung condition called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a new study finds. “Our findings suggest that regular physical activity could buffer the stresses of hospitalization,” said study author Huong Nguyen, of the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research and…
On Friday, March 28, 2014, researchers stated that bans on smoking in public and the workplace led to a 10 percent drop in premature births and in emergency asthma treatment for children. The evidence, based on the records of more than two million children, comes from 11 published investigations into the impact of local…
Reuters Health reports that mold exposure in the home raises the risk of asthma symptoms, researchers found. Men were especially vulnerable after recent exposure to visible mold. “The mold exposure that we were talking about is the typical mold that we all see in our homes from time to time, that is, mold that…
A retrospective study of almost 39,000 patients shows that opportunities to diagnose chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at an earlier stage are frequently being missed in both primary and secondary care in the UK. The findings, published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, reveal missed opportunities to diagnose COPD occurred in up to 85 percent of…
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a deadly, colorless, odorless, poisonous gas. It is produced by the incomplete burning of various fuels, such as coal, wood, oil, propane, and natural gas. Other sources of CO are products and equipment such as cars, lawn mowers, portable generators and power washers. In addition, Smokers and Firefighters have extreme exposure…
According to a September, 2012 report by the American Lung Association (ALA), 7.1 million children had asthma in 2011, with the prevalence being between the ages of 5-11. The report additionally showed that boys were 16% more likely to develop asthma than girls. Why is that and what does it mean for parents and practitioners,…
In an original study at Monash University, Australia, for Multidisciplinary Approach to Management of Maternal Asthma (MAMMA), it was found that early intervention to better manage the asthmatic condition in a pregnant women can statistically and clinically control their asthma. Intervening through monthly asthma education, monitoring, feedback, and follow-up helped yield better asthma control…