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Children delivered through the means of several modern medical
childbirth interventions appear to be at greater risk for developing
childhood asthma than other children, according to researchers in
Finland.
The researchers from the National Public Health Institute in Kuopio,
Finland note that "Studies have shown that perinatal factors
are associated with childhood asthma."
To investigate the relationship of intervention with asthma, researchers
examined obstetric complications and the incidence of asthma at
the age of 7 years in a group of 8088 Finnish children, followed
since birth.
Children whose birth was accompanied by special obstetric procedures
were at greater risk of asthma. The procedures linked to the increasedrisk
were:
- Cesarean Section - 38%
Increase
- Vacuum Extraction - 32% Increase
- Forceps Delivery - 114% Increase
In addition, children with low Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes
after birth were at greater risk of later asthma compared to those
with an Apgar score of 9-10. Apgar scores are used to gauge the
condition of a newborn, and values are assigned to characteristics
such as heart rate, skin color, and muscle tone.
The authors conclude that "Results indicated that obstetric
complications were associated with a higher risk of asthma among
children. The results encourage further evaluation of the association
between obstetric complications and risk of asthma among children
in other populations."
Journal of Asthma 2000;37:589-594
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