Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
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According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI), 8.3 million American children have respiratory allergies, 9.5 American children have skin allergies and nearly 6 million children in the U.S. have food allergies. Though the organization reports that early identification of childhood allergies can improve the child’s quality of life and reduce the number of missed school days, a new study is advising parents to get their children screened more aggressively for high cholesterol and high blood pressure because those factors can set them on a dangerous path at a very early age.
The study, set to be published on December 8th, 2015 in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology, concluding report states, “Children with allergies, particularly asthma and hay fever, have about twice the rate of high blood pressure and high cholesterol, setting them on a course for heart disease at a surprisingly early age. Even when the study controlled for obesity, children with allergic disease has a much higher risk.”
Lead study author, Dr. Jonathan Silverberg, an associate professor of dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine dermatologist says, “This study shows that cardiovascular risk starts far earlier in life than we ever realized. Given how common these allergic diseases are in childhood, it suggests we need to screen these children more aggressively to make sure we are not missing high cholesterol and high blood pressure. There may be an opportunity to modify their lifestyles and turn this risk around.”
Allergic rhinitis, commonly known as hay fever, is the most common allergic reaction in children in the United States. Symptoms, according to the ACAAI, including runny and itchy nose, sneezing, postnasal drip and nasal congestion. Allergies can also cause nasal congestion, ear infections, and ailments to particular foods.
Silverberg and his team of researchers studied associations between asthma, hay fever and eczema in the U.S. against cardiovascular risk factors. Data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey of 13,275 children from all 50 states was used in the study. According to the study’s findings, asthma occurred in 14% of children, eczema in 12% and hay fever in 16.6% of children. All three factors were associated with higher rates of overweight or obese children.
Dr. Jonathan Silverberg explains, “Because the association with hypertension and high cholesterol exists separately from obesity, inflammation occurring in asthma and hay fever might contribute to higher rates of cardiovascular disease. Also, children with profound asthma are typically more sedentary, which also may have a harmful effect and drive up blood pressure.”
To find an allergist near you, visit the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology’s website, here: http://acaai.org/locate-an-allergist. Speak to your child’s pediatrician for more information.
Sources: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151208081328.htm and http://acaai.org/
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About 75 percent of children get ear infections and by one years old, 60 percent will have had at least one.[1] Ear infections occur when fluid is trapped in the middle of the ear. It is a common side effect of a cold, throat infection or even allergies. But a new study from the University of Milan could shed light on the benefit of vitamin D supplementation when it comes to your child’s ear infections.
Researchers from the University in Italy studied 116 children with recurrent otitis media, “three of more episodes in the 6 months prior to the study or four or more episodes in the 12 months prior to the study,” Medpage Today reports. With an average age of 34 months old, most of the children studied are Caucasian and over 80 percent (the placebo group and vitamin D group) had received a vaccine for pneumonia. Researchers reported that over 72 percent of the test group and 84 percent of the placebo group had been breastfeed for three months or more. The children were monitored for six months.
Results of the study showed a significantly lower amount of ear infections (acute otitis media) in the treatment group (given 1000 IU of vitamin C) than the placebo group. Also seen in the results was a reduction in the number of incidences of complicated acute otitis media.
Though Vitamin D is commonly thought of as the “Sunshine Vitamin”, this vitamin actually plays numerous roles throughout your body. The National Institutes of Health reports that vitamin D is also a major factor in immune function and the reduction of inflammation.
“Dr. Susanna Esposito, one of the researchers, noted that as many as 80 percent of children in the study had baseline serum vitamin D levels that were <0 ng/mL. All but two of the children in the treatment group had improvements to levels >30 ng/mL from supplementation, the recommended level for vitamin D. Esposito suggested to doctors that “if you have a child with recurrent otitis media you can check serum levels of vitamin D and if they present below certain levels you can try supplementation,” reported EmpowHER.
*The study advises parents to be sure to consult their child’s doctor before starting them on a vitamin supplementation routine.
Sources:
[2] http://www.medpagetoday.com/