Asthma is a condition that is due to inflammation of the bronchi when the patient is exposed to various factors, such as cold or certain substances that cause allergies, which makes breathing difficult and can trigger other symptoms such as cough, wheezing and tightness in the throat. the chest Although it affects people of all ages, it is the most common chronic disease in children, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
A new study has identified an important risk associated with this pathology, since its results suggest that asthma is linked to memory difficulties in children, and that an early onset of this disease could aggravate these problems. The research has been published in JAMA Network Open and is the first to establish a connection between asthma and memory deficits in children.
“This study highlights the importance of considering asthma as a possible source of cognitive difficulties in children. We are increasingly aware that chronic diseases, not only asthma, but also diabetes, heart disease and others, can increase the risk of cognitive problems in childhood,” said Simona Ghetti, professor of psychology at the Center of Mind and Brain at the University of California at Davis (UC Davis). “It is crucial to identify factors that could increase or mitigate these risks,” he adds.
Link between asthma and cognitive deficits in childhood
Globally, around 260 million people have asthma. “Childhood is a period of rapid development of memory and, in general, cognition. In children with asthma, this progress could be slower,” explained Nicholas Christopher-Hayes, a doctoral candidate in psychology at UC Davis and first author of the study.
The research analyzed data from 2,062 children with asthma who were between 9 and 10 years old to evaluate how this condition affects episodic memory and other cognitive abilities. Episodic memory is a specific type of memory that allows us to remember personal experiences, such as events and the emotions associated with them.
The results showed that children with asthma obtained lower scores on episodic memory tasks compared to those without this lung disease. In a smaller subgroup of 473 children who were followed for two years, the team found that children with earlier onset of asthma and who have lived longer with the disease have slower memory development over time.
“Asthma could set children on a trajectory that increases their risk of developing more serious conditions, such as dementia, in adulthood.”
This data comes from the National Institute of Health, which was collected since 2015 as part of a large ongoing study of the cognitive and brain development of 11,800 children. To ensure that differences in memory and other outcomes were related to asthma, the analysis compared children with similar characteristics and contexts.
Researchers have also warned that these memory deficits could have long-term repercussions. In fact, previous studies in older adults and animals have found that asthma is associated with an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s, diseases that affect memory. “Asthma could set children on a trajectory that increases their risk of developing more serious conditions, such as dementia, in adulthood,” Christopher-Hayes said.
Although the study did not analyze the specific mechanism responsible for memory difficulties linked to asthma, the researchers pointed to potential factors such as prolonged inflammation caused by asthma or interruptions in the supply of oxygen to the brain during attacks. Research in rodents has also shown that some asthma medications affect the hippocampus, a brain structure fundamental for episodic memory, in both animals and humans.
