Increased risk of developing asthma by age of 3 after cesarean delivery

Increased risk of developing asthma by age of 3 after cesarean delivery

A new study supports previous findings that children delivered by cesarean section have an increased risk of developing asthma.

The study from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) suggests that children delivered by cesarean section have an increased risk of asthma at the age of three. This was particularly seen among children without a hereditary tendency to asthma and allergies.

The results of the study indicate that children born by cesarean section have a slightly elevated risk for asthma at three years, but have no increased risk of frequent lower respiratory tract infections or wheezing. The increased risk of asthma among children delivered by cesarean section was higher among children of mothers without allergies.

"It is unlikely that a cesarean delivery itself would cause an increased risk of asthma, rather that children delivered this way may have an underlying vulnerability," said Maria Magnus, a researcher at the Department of Chronic Diseases at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

Children delivered by cesarean section may have an increased risk of asthma due to an altered bacterial flora in the intestine that affects their immune system development, or because children born this way often have an increased risk of serious respiratory problems during the first weeks of life.

Posted by George Daniels on Monday January 16 2012, 4:07 AM EST. Ref: Maria Magnus, et al. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0