Exposure to violence may worsen asthma: study

来源:百度文库 编辑:神马文学网 时间:2024/07/08 12:12:06

Exposure to violence may worsen asthma: study

08:34, September 07, 2010      

Email | Print | Subscribe | Comments | Forum 

Increases the bookmark twitter facebook digg Google Windowslive Delicious buzz friendfeed Linkedin diigo reddit stumbleupon

U.S. researchers have found a link between exposure to violence in childhood with aggravated asthma in later life.

The study involved 397 adults with moderate to severe asthma who lived in an inner-city community. Nearly one-quarter of the participants had previously been exposed to violence.

The participants were followed for six months by researchers at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

The findings showed that people who had been exposed to violence previously had nearly twice the rate of subsequent hospitalizations or emergency department visits for asthma as those who hadn't been exposed to violence.

The researchers come to the conclusion that people with asthma who had witnessed violence in their neighborhoods are at increased risk for asthma-related hospitalization and emergency department visits for asthma or any cause.

The study also found that exposure to violence was associated with lower asthma-related quality of life, and that younger adults were more likely to be exposed to violence and more likely to have had an emergency care visit in general.

It's not clear how exposure to violence affects asthma, but the researchers suggested that it may be a marker for physical or social conditions that contribute to the development of asthma, exacerbate symptoms, and interfere with successful treatment and management of the disease.

These conditions may include air pollution, inadequate housing and limited access to pharmacies.

It's also possible that the stress of living in a poor, violence-affected community directly affects the health of people with asthma, the researchers said, adding that the two theories were not mutually exclusive.

"Because overall ED (emergency department) visits increased and there was a trend toward increase in overall hospitalizations, our findings suggest that exposure to violence is associated with far reaching health effects beyond the single condition of asthma," said lead author Dr. Andrea J. Apter, a professor of medicine and chief of the allergy and immunology sections in the division of pulmonary, allergy and critical care medicine.

The study appears in the September issue of the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology.

Source: Xinhua
  • China strengthens campus security to prevent violence

  • Violence kills 165 in August in Pakistan's Karachi

  • U.S. plants in Iraq violence, division, not freedom, democracy

  • Iraqi PM warns of new wave of violence

  • New bill to help end violence in S. Thailand: Army Chief

  • 11 people killed, 29 wounded in Iraq's violence

  • 9 people killed in Iraq's violence

  • Bronx shootings leave 14 shot, two dead in New York City

  • 2 more killed in violence in India-controlled Kashmir

  • Violence against women on the rise in Brazil

    • US points gun at China after Iraq?

    • Could 172 DF-15 paralyze Kadena Base?

    • Can Buffett, Gates convert China's wealthy to philanthropy?

    • Should China apply tactics in response to tests from the outside?

    • Afloat on a Chinese tide

    • World's shortest man at 27 inches

    • Prince Philip reveals painting talent

      • Senior Chinese legislator urges collective efforts to ensure food security

      • Chinese vice premier calls on cooperatives to enhance innovation

      • China urges stronger trade links with Japan

      • China's top political advisor calls for efforts to build "ecological screens"

      • China's tycoons pass on Gates' invitation

      • Fears over privacy confront census takers

      • China surges to 5th largest global investor

      • China, Italy plan to expand economic cooperation