RISK ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS FOR CHILDHOOD ASTHMA

Abstract

Besides personal characteristics inherited or acquired, exposure to outdoor pollutant and risk environmental factors during fetal and postnatal period can play an important role for development of childhood asthma. Differentiation of allergen specific T cells into dominant Th2 phenotype can be caused by mom-to-be or a young baby exposure to high concentrations of allergens, irritants, tobacco smoke or some other pollutants. One of the possible premises was given by the hygiene hypotheses. It is based on reciprocal relation between the incidence of infective diseases in early childhood and, as a consequence, occurrence of asthma and other infective diseases later on. Epidemiological, biological and genetic studies have given proofs to enlarge the scale of this hypothesis. According to them, there is a possibility that the loss of normal immune balance arises from extremely clean way of life, where the number of microbes is very reduced. In such circumstances the immune system reacts to every kind of “danger” by allergic responses and allergic diseases, including asthma.

Keywords

• hygiene hypotheses
• environment
• asthma
• children