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Stress linked to asthma attacks in children

Stress quadruples the risk of an asthma attack in children, a study has shown.

Family splits, illness and moving home were all found to aggravate youngsters' asthma, leading to a worsening of symptoms and more asthma attacks.

The research, published in the journal Thorax, also found that stress led to a double attack of acute symptoms within 48 hours and even six weeks later.

The team, from University College London, studied 60 children aged six to 13 who had suffered asthma for at least three years.

'Significant effect'

The youngsters were asked to keep daily diaries in which they recorded acute bouts of asthma and their strength of breath - peak flow.

The children were followed for 18 months, with their parents regularly interviewed about stressful life events, including moving house, births, deaths, trips to hospital, separations and changes in family relationships.

During the study there were 361 episodes of rapidly worsening asthma, with 124 "negative life events".

The researchers, led by Dr Seija Sandberg, found that children were over four times more likely to suffer a sudden worsening of symptoms within one to two days of experiencing a stressful event.

They also found that after a period of stabilisation, the risk of symptoms suddenly worsening again doubled at around five to seven weeks later.

The researchers suggested that the worsening of asthma was likely to be caused by different physiological and immune processes brought on by stress.

Prof Andrew Peacock, from the British Thoracic Society (BTS), said: "This study shows that social factors such as stress can have a significant effect on asthma symptoms particularly in children.

"Asthma causes anxiety, which in turn worsens the condition and a vicious circle develops which is particularly distressing for the children and their parents.

"The study shows how important it is to have an asthma plan which will break that vicious circle."

Prof Peacock said that even spending a small amount of time teaching patients how to manage their condition could help to reduce the number of asthma attacks.

"We would advise those parents who think their child may be going through a stressful time, to talk to their GP, asthma nurse or consultant to ensure they have a written personal asthma plan to help them control their symptoms," he said.