Family history a risk factor for asthma death
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - An analysis of genealogyrecords linked to death certificates in Utah suggests that therisk of dying from an asthma attack is hereditary.
Dr. Craig C. Teerlink and associates at the University ofUtah in Salt Lake City identified 1553 asthma-related deaths ina registry of all Utah deaths since 1904.
According to information from the Utah Population Database,the risk of dying of asthma was increased by 69 percent forfirst-degree relatives of people who died from asthma comparedto people with no family history of asthma deaths, according toa report in the American Journal of Respiratory and CriticalCare Medicine.
The risk was also raised by 34 percent for second-degreerelatives of asthma death cases (RR = 1.34, p = 0.003), and waseven elevated, by 15 percent, among third-degree relatives.
"The results should provide further incentive for asthma(healthcare) providers to thoroughly question their patientsabout family history as it is a risk factor for asthmamortality," Teerlink and his associates conclude.
SOURCE: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical CareMedicine, November 2007.
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