Dear all:

I thought this might be of interest.  It comes from a listserve for nongovernmental 
organizations that work in developing areas around the world.

From: Campbell, Dan (GH/HIDN/ID) [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 

A post to Urban Health Updates: http://urbanhealthupdates.wordpress.com
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Pune: As the world observes Asthma Day on Tuesday, parents in Pune have a serious 
cause for worry. A new study by Chest Research Foundation (CRF) reveals that children 
suffering from asthma have almost doubled in the city in five years.
 
The first study, involving 3,000 children completed in 2003, showed that asthma was 
prevalent among 2.9 per cent of schoolchildren in Pune. In the present study, 3,909 
children from 17 schools were observed and it was seen that asthma prevalence was 5.4 
per cent. “This is an almost 80 per cent jump,” says Dr Sundeep Salvi, director of Chest 
Research Foundation.
 
The study in randomly selected schools was conducted by Maria Cheraghi as part of her 
PhD thesis with the University of Pune. Dr Sundeep Salvi, director of CRF, supervised the 
study.
 
The study involved 1,565 students from municipal schools and 2,344 from private schools. 
Asthma was seen to be more prevalent among students of private schools (5.9 per cent) 
as compared to those in municipal schools (4.7 per cent). 
 
Dr Salvi attributed the difference to factors like lifestyle, food habits, obesity, lack of 
exercise and urban indoor air pollution.
 
He says children born in homes using biomass fuel for cooking, such as kerosene and 
wood, showed a three-fold risk of getting asthma as compared to children in homes that 
use LPG for cooking. Also, children born in homes that did not have a separate kitchen 
had a significantly increased risk. Children who lived in homes that had damp walls also 
face a higher risk. “Children born by Caesarean Section had a four-fold risk of having 
asthma as compared to those born by normal delivery,” says Salvi who is presenting 
these findings at the European Respiratory Society Annual Congress, to be held in Vienna, 
Austria, next September.
 
Talking about Caesarean delivery quadrupling the risk, Dr Salvi noted that similar 
observations have been reported in other parts of the world.
 
“Babies born by normal delivery come in contact with the mother’s normal bacterial flora 
in the birth passage, which stimulate immunological responses in the child that have 
several benefits. Children born by Caesarean delivery do not come in contact this useful 
bacteria and their immune system develops in a manner very different from babies 
exposed to these bacteria,” Salvi explained.
 
He further said, “The abnormal immune response in babies born by Caesarean delivery is 
believed to lead to asthma as they grow older.”
 
“Doctors have been reporting an increase in asthma cases. The study has given us some 
conclusive scientific evidence,” says Salvi.
 
“Such a rapid increase in cases in such a short time is unusual and worrisome. Though 
the study has been conducted in Pune, we fear the findings may apply to the whole 
nation. The asthma threat is for real and our children need help,” he said.
 
 

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