Mark Perrin-Jones

Researchers in Britain and Finland studied 90 children aged 6 to 13 with chronic moderate to severe asthma over a period of 18 months. They discovered that the more a child was under stress, the more likely he or she is to suffer from asthma attacks.

The researchers observed 2 types of stress which they termed chronic ‘background stress’, such as poor housing, problems with other family members, serious difficulties at school, and what was called ‘severe events’ such as the loss of a person close to them, or a divorce, separation of their parents.

Severe events increased the likelihood of new asthma attacks significantly.

The majority of children that suffer chronic asthma attacks are normally given drugs to deal with their problem, but according to the study its also vitally important to deal with the child’s problems as well.