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Challenging Asthma Theories

Penny St John

A new study by Otago University's Wellington School of Medicine is challenging the current theory that most asthma is caused by allergies.

The study's main author, Wellington Asthma Research Group Director Professor Neil Pearce, says over the past two decades asthma has increasingly been regarded as an allergic disease associated with conditions such as hayfever and eczema. It has been assumed allergies are the main reason people develop asthma, and that allergens are the main factors triggering asthma attacks.

However, the new study, recently published in Thorax, has found only about half of all asthma is caused by those allergic conditions. This does not mean allergy is not important in asthma, but that non-allergenic mechanisms may be more important than researchers previously thought, Pearce says.

"About one-half of asthmatics develop the condition through some type of allergic process, but we don't know how the other 50% have developed the disease. Just because someone does not have allergies does not mean that they won't develop asthma."

The findings are of major concern because there has been little research into non-allergenic causes of asthma.

Pearce stresses that asthmatics should not jump to the conclusion that they no longer have to worry about being allergic to dust mites, cats, dogs and other allergens.

"Allergic reactions are definitely a problem if you are an asthmatic and suffer from allergies. We need more research in this area but we also need more studies into other possible causes of asthma."

Penny St John is a staff writer with the Public Relations Office at Otago University