Ham
19th September, 2008, 04:37 PM
Paracetamol linked to childhood asthma
? 200,000 children took part in worldwide study
? WHO recommendations restrict use to high fever
Children who are given paracetamol in their early years are more likely to get asthma, researchers say today at the end of a major worldwide study.
More than 200,000 children were involved in the research in 31 countries, making this the biggest and most authoritative study of the links between asthma and paracetamol ever carried out. The scientists found that babies given paracetamol, such as the ubiquitous Calpol, which is licensed for use over two months of age, were more likely to develop asthma. So were those in later childhood who were given it frequently. Use of the drug was also associated with a risk of eczema and rhinoconjunctivitis (allergy-linked runny nose and watering eyes).
Professor Richard ~~~~~~~, from the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand in Wellington, and colleagues, who publish their results today in the Lancet medical journal, say the study shows taking paracetamol is a "risk factor" for childhood asthma. It does not prove it causes it, but may be a reason to avoid over-use.
"We stress the findings do not constitute a reason to stop using paracetamol in childhood," they say. "Paracetamol remains the preferred drug to relieve pain and fever in children. However, the findings do lend support to the current guidelines of the World Health Organisation, which recommend that paracetamol should not be used routinely, but should be reserved for children with a high fever (38.5C or above)."
The spread in the use of paracetamol has coincided with a rise in asthma worldwide over the 50 years since the drug was launched on the market.
The suspicion of a link to asthma has been around for a while and other studies have been done suggesting it could have an impact on babies in the womb, children and adults. The power of the new study, however, is in its scale and its global scope.
A total of 205,487 children aged between six and seven were involved in the study. Their parents filled in detailed questionnaires including questions that asked about the use of paracetamol to treat fever in the first year of the child's life and the frequency of use in the last year.
The researchers found that children aged six to seven who had been given paracetamol in the first year of life had a 46% increased risk of asthma. Those who had been given it in the last year were more likely to develop asthma the more doses they were given - medium use increased the risk by 61% and high use (once a month) more than three times. If they were given it in the first year of life, their chances of rhinoconjunctivitis rose by 48% and of eczema by 35%.
Professor Jeffrey Aronson, president of the British Pharmacological Society, said the report "underlines the importance of a current recommendation that paracetamol should not be used regularly in young children."
Sarah Boseley, health editor
The Guardian, Friday September 19 2008
guardian.co.uk ? Guardian News and Media Limited 2008
? 200,000 children took part in worldwide study
? WHO recommendations restrict use to high fever
Children who are given paracetamol in their early years are more likely to get asthma, researchers say today at the end of a major worldwide study.
More than 200,000 children were involved in the research in 31 countries, making this the biggest and most authoritative study of the links between asthma and paracetamol ever carried out. The scientists found that babies given paracetamol, such as the ubiquitous Calpol, which is licensed for use over two months of age, were more likely to develop asthma. So were those in later childhood who were given it frequently. Use of the drug was also associated with a risk of eczema and rhinoconjunctivitis (allergy-linked runny nose and watering eyes).
Professor Richard ~~~~~~~, from the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand in Wellington, and colleagues, who publish their results today in the Lancet medical journal, say the study shows taking paracetamol is a "risk factor" for childhood asthma. It does not prove it causes it, but may be a reason to avoid over-use.
"We stress the findings do not constitute a reason to stop using paracetamol in childhood," they say. "Paracetamol remains the preferred drug to relieve pain and fever in children. However, the findings do lend support to the current guidelines of the World Health Organisation, which recommend that paracetamol should not be used routinely, but should be reserved for children with a high fever (38.5C or above)."
The spread in the use of paracetamol has coincided with a rise in asthma worldwide over the 50 years since the drug was launched on the market.
The suspicion of a link to asthma has been around for a while and other studies have been done suggesting it could have an impact on babies in the womb, children and adults. The power of the new study, however, is in its scale and its global scope.
A total of 205,487 children aged between six and seven were involved in the study. Their parents filled in detailed questionnaires including questions that asked about the use of paracetamol to treat fever in the first year of the child's life and the frequency of use in the last year.
The researchers found that children aged six to seven who had been given paracetamol in the first year of life had a 46% increased risk of asthma. Those who had been given it in the last year were more likely to develop asthma the more doses they were given - medium use increased the risk by 61% and high use (once a month) more than three times. If they were given it in the first year of life, their chances of rhinoconjunctivitis rose by 48% and of eczema by 35%.
Professor Jeffrey Aronson, president of the British Pharmacological Society, said the report "underlines the importance of a current recommendation that paracetamol should not be used regularly in young children."
Sarah Boseley, health editor
The Guardian, Friday September 19 2008
guardian.co.uk ? Guardian News and Media Limited 2008