Asthma is found to be more common in developed countries and has increased over the past three decades in many countries. According to a new study environmental factors and diet may be the reason for higher rates of asthma seen in developed countries, according to a new study.
In the study involving more than 10,000 primary-school children from three cities in China, the children from Hong Kong had a significantly higher prevalence of wheezing in the past year than those from the cities of Guangzhou and Beijing. Factors significantly linked to wheezing were cooking with gas, foam pillows, and damp housing. Factors that protected against wheezing were cotton quilts and frequent consumption of fruit and raw vegetables.Thus researchers conclude saying that the differences in asthma prevalence are likely due to different environmental exposures since the study participants had the same genetic background.
