A mom who takes acid-blockers for heartburn during pregnancy increases the risk of her baby developing asthma by 50 percent.
An analysis of Swedish healthcare registries by Elizabeth Yen, MD, of the Department of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Children’s Hospital Boston, and Instructor of Pediatrics, Harvard School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, found that taking acid-blockers to counter heartburn associated with pregnancy upped the odds of the baby developing asthma regardless of the type of drug taken.
The effect was seen for asthma only, and there was no increased risk for other allergic diseases such as food allergies or atopic dermatitis.
“This effect was preserved irrespective of the type of acid-blocking drug, time of exposure during pregnancy, and maternal history of allergy,” Dr. Yen said. “This provides the first evidence of a novel potential risk factor for the development of allergic diseases in children.”
© 2008 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
|
