The Study on Asthma Risk for Kids

More than sixty six thousand children in Sweden participated in the research study. At this time, only maternal grandmothers were looked at. Researchers have discovered that children who had parents who were born to a mother who smoked while she was pregnant are more likely to develop asthma. The gene that is damaged by smoking can be passed down from one generation to the next, even if the next generation does not smoke.

The Results

Women who had mothers who smoked while they were pregnant with them are more likely to have children who have asthma. If the maternal grandmother smoked while she was carrying the mother, then the grandchild will be between ten and twenty two percent more likely to suffer with asthma.

Researchers believe that this occurs because there are genes damaged by the smoking mothers, and they pass those damaged genes down to their children, who pass the genes on down to their children.

What this means

We all knew that smoking is incredibly dangerous for our health, and this study shows us that smoking can endanger future generations as well. In the past fifty years, asthma cases have been steadily increasing. This seemed odd since the number of smokers has been steadily decreasing.

More research will need to be done to see if the sons of mothers who smoked during pregnancy also have the same percentages of children who develop asthma.

The correlation between smoking and the damages it may cause for future generations is a huge breakthrough. If researchers can show people that their bad habit may be effecting all of their future offsprings, including their grandchildren, then more people will be likely to stop smoking.

Doctors and medical professionals can begin to ask the questions about grandmothers who smoked when pregnant women come to see them. This will allow the doctors and medical professionals to be prepared for a child that may have been breathing complications at birth, or may develop breathing complications later in life.

Other diseases

Researchers are excited about this information and they will want to test the grandchildren of grandmothers that smoked while they were pregnant with their daughters, so they can determine if the altered genes can be connected to other diseases. This information could potentially be used to stop some diseases that the grandchildren might develop. If the medical team is aware of the higher than average risks of a child developing a condition, they can watch more closely for the signs of the condition, and advise the parents of the child how to be more cautious with them.

Breakthrough studies that show the effects of dangerous habits like smoking are happening each day. Doctors are learning each week about some other connection smoking tobacco, smoking marijuana, and drinking alcohol has between diseases and abnormalities. With this knowledge, doctors are trying to develop new treatment plans and trying to get the word out so people stop engaging in these dangerous behaviors.