Study finds tentative link between child abuse and asthma

Dr. Juan Celedon, Harvard Medical University

Harvard Medical School professor Dr. Juan Celedon and his colleagues interviewed over 1200 Puerto Rican children and their guardians, and discovered that nearly 40 percent of those questioned had been medically diagnosed as having asthma at some point in their lives.

Celedon’s research, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, was prompted by several previous studies indicating Puerto Rican’s may have a greater susceptibility to asthma after suffering emotional distress.

 In order to discover if the increased risk of asthma was the result of trauma as an adult or a child, Celedon and his colleagues asked children if they had ever been exposed to violent and/or sexual trauma in their homes or communities.   ~~Adz:Right~~

Of the 40 percent with a history of asthma, the study discovered that 14 percent of the children had seen an act of violence, 7 percent had been victims of violence and 6 percent had suffered physical or sexual abuse.

While the researchers could not assert with certainty that there was a connection between abuse, asthma and Puerto Ricans, they did determine that those exposed to physical or sexual abuse were 2.52 times more likely to currently have asthma and 2.35 times as likely to be on medication for the condition.

“Our findings highlight the importance of screening for asthma among victims of childhood abuse, and to be aware of the possibility of physical or sexual abuse among children with asthma,” Celedon wrote in his analysis of the research results.

He further noted that the study likely underestimated the frequency of abuse in the children, as parents and guardians were often present when the information was obtained.

Based on the discovered results, Celedon et al. called for further abuse-asthma research to study the body’s response to external stressors, amongst other things.