Children born by caesarean delivery are at risk for developing asthma, particularly if their parents have allergies. C-section has been thought to be a risk factor for asthma, although the relationship is controversial. Researchers from Netherlands analysed data from 2917 children to assess the association between caesarean delivery and asthma or allergies at 8 years of age. It was found that 362 (12 percent) of the children developed asthma at the age of 8 years and 9 percent had been delivered by c-section. Overall, children delivered by c-section were 79 percent more likely to develop asthma than children born vaginally. The association between c-section and asthma was even stronger for children born to one or two allergic parents than for children born to parents without allergies. The results emphasise the importance of gene-environment interactions on the development of asthma in children.
Thorax
February 2009