A new study has found that a school-based asthma education program conducted in the Oakland, California school district was shown to reduce symptoms and increase the number of days that children who suffered from asthma were able to go to school. The study will be published this month in the Journal of School Health.

Asthmatic children whose parents have high expectations for their ability to function normally are less likely to have symptoms than other children dealing with the condition, according to a new study. Children also are more likely to use asthma controller medications appropriately if they have a routine for taking medicine and if their parents clearly understand how well symptoms can be controlled.

Children who are physically or sexually abused are more than twice as likely to have asthma as their peers, according to a recent study of urban children in Puerto Rico. In fact, physical and sexual abuse was second only to maternal asthma in all the risk factors tested, including paternal asthma and indicators of socioeconomic status.

Expectant mothers who eat nuts or nut products like peanut butter daily during pregnancy increase their children's risk of developing asthma by more than 50 percent over women who rarely or never consume nut products during pregnancy, according to new research from the Netherlands.

A study of how pediatricians prescribe asthma medications suggests that while most would readily increase a child's medication if needed, many are reluctant to taper off drug use when less might be best. A report on the study, led by Johns Hopkins Children's Center researchers, appears in the July issue of Pediatrics.

AstraZeneca announced that it submitted a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval of a new indication for SYMBICORT® (budesonide/formoterol fumarate dihydrate) Inhalation Aerosol for the long-term maintenance treatment of asthma in pediatric patients ages 6 to 11 years old.

First-born children are at higher risk of developing asthma and allergy because of different conditions they experience in the uterus, according to new research from the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom, which will be presented at the American Thoracic Society’s 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Wednesday, May 21.

Young people with asthma are about twice as likely to suffer from depressive and anxiety disorders than are children without asthma, according to a study by a research team in Seattle.

Breastfeeding exclusively or for a prolonged period does not protect children against developing asthma and allergies, according to the results of a large randomised trial published on www.bmj.com today.

Giving children a diet rich in fish and “fruity vegetables” can reduce asthma and allergies, according to a seven-year study of 460 Spanish children, published in the September issue of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology.