Changes in the placenta may increase the risk of children developing asthma and allergies, as shown in new research from Örebro University. The study is published in the journal Pediatric Allergy and Immunology . "We pediatricians ought to focus more on the potential significance of the placenta for the child after birth," says researcher Maria Lodefalk.
Lodefalk is a docent in Medical Science at Örebro University and chief physician in pediatrics at Örebro University Hospital. Together with Zaki Bakoyan, a doctor in Falun and a former medical student at Örebro University, Lodefalk has published a study based on a review of 19 previous studies involving around 13,000 children. Their study shows that children born prematurely have a three times increased risk of suffering from asthma -related problems if there is inflammation in the fetal membranes and placenta.
This risk is in addition to the increased risk of lung disease linked to premature birth . Researchers also saw a link between unusually heavy placentas and increased asthma medication prescriptions in full-term children during their first year of life. Although these links are statistically significant, Lodefalk emphasizes that the researchers do not yet know for sure whether changes in the placenta directly or indirectly cause asthma or allergies in children.
"It's almost impossible to conduct the kind of studies needed to prove a causal relation in pregnant women. But given these results, I think we pediatri.