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Excerpts from: New Research on Preventing Allergies, Asthma Reported at AAAAI Annual Meeting; Pregnant Asthmatic Smokers at Greater Risk for Pregnancy Complications

By PR Newswire  Todays News  [03/18/01]

 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Online

Pregnant women who have asthma and smoke during their pregnancies are more likely to have premature babies or
other adverse perinatal outcomes, according to a study presented today at the
American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) Annual Meeting.
    The objective of the study by Kristin Kloos and colleagues from the Mayo
Clinic was to determine the incidence of adverse perinatal outcomes of smoking
in pregnancies complicated by asthma.

    Researchers noted that there is an alarming incidence of cigarette smoking
among pregnant women with asthma.  The incidence of prematurity and other
adverse perinatal outcomes is significantly greater in pregnant asthmatics who
smoke than among those who do not.  Asthmatics should be aggressively
counseled to discontinue smoking and be carefully supervised by their
obstetricians and medical doctors who treat them for asthma, researchers
recommended.

    Avoiding allergen exposure in infancy reduces the development of asthma

    Children at high-risk for developing asthma are less likely to do so if
their exposure to allergy triggers is reduced when they are infants, according
to researchers at the AAAAI Annual Meeting.