Category Archives: Asthma

Massage Therapy Helps Children with Asthma

Today is World Asthma Day, and today’s post will examine the use of massage to help asthma symptoms in children.

According to data from the CDC, asthma is the most common chronic disease among American children, afflicting over 6 million children. Asthma is the third leading cause of hospital admissions among children 15 and younger. It is also a leading cause of school absenteeism.

In China, a number of traditional therapies such as acupuncture are used to help with asthma. Another traditional therapy is massage. A group of researchers in Shanghai China performed a review and meta-analysis of the published research on asthma and massage therapy. They included 14 studies totaling 1300 subjects in their analysis.

The researchers concluded that massage therapy significantly improved the efficacy of asthma treatments in children, and also showed improved in pulmonary function measures.

Similar to the post yesterday regarding adding acupuncture to a conventional asthma regimen, consideration of what appears to be a safe and potentially effective treatment in massage seems reasonable in those already being treated for asthma.

“Anyone wishing to study medicine must master the art of massage”– Hippocrates

(Source- Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Volume 2017)

This blog is a review of published medical and scientific literature, and should only be used for informational purposed. It does not constitute medical or health advice, nor does it create a physician-patient relationship with anyone. Discuss any health concerns with your personal physician.

World Asthma Day May 7th-Try Acupuncture

May 7th is World Asthma Day, and today’s post will examine the use of acupuncture as an add-on therapy for treatment of asthma for patients already using conventional treatments for asthma.

According to statistics from the CDC, nearly 8% of American adults have asthma, while slightly more than 8% of children have asthma. Asthma is the most common chronic disease among children. It is estimated that over $50 billion is spent each year on medical expenses related to asthma.

A research group from China performed a review and meta-analysis of published studies, examining the role of acupuncture as an add-on therapy to conventional treatments for asthma. Nine separate studies were included in their analysis, involving nearly 800 participants, from China, Korea, and Russia.

What the researchers discovered was that when acupuncture was added to conventional asthma treatment, acupuncture significantly improved the asthma symptom response rate, and also decreased IL-6 levels. IL-6 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine produced in the smooth muscle cells of many blood vessels.

There is a significant amount of interest in alternative health therapies among asthma sufferers, particularly in China, where acupuncture has been used for thousands of years. There remains interest in using acupuncture for asthma among health professionals as well, as there is another large study of this topic currently underway in China.

Given the promising results of this study, and the generally very good safety profile for acupuncture, perhaps adding on acupuncture to a conventional asthma treatment regimen may be worthy of consideration.

“It’s strange that words are so inadequate. Yet, like the asthmatic struggling for breath, so the lover must struggle for words.”– T.S. Eliot

(Source- Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Volume 2019)

This blog is a review of published medical and scientific literature, and should only be used for informational purposes. It does not constitute medical or health advice, nor does it create a physician-patient relationship with anyone. Discuss and health concerns with your personal physician.

 

 

Soft Drinks, Asthma and Adults

This is the third and final post in recognition of World Asthma Day, Tuesday May 2nd. This post looks at research from the University of Adelaide in South Australia. In particular, the researchers examined the relationship between soft drink consumption and asthma as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) among a sample of adults in South Australia.

Using a random sample of South Australians phone interviews were conducted with adults ages 16 and older, with a mean of 47 years. In all, nearly 17,000 adults were interviewed.

Respondents were questioned regarding any diagnosis of asthma that was associated with symptoms over the past year, or use of typical asthma medications over the past year. Respondents were similarly queried regarding COPD diagnosis. Soft drink intake was associated by asking about the amount of soft drinks and sports drinks consumed in a typical day.

Results showed that higher levels of soft drink consumption were associated with a higher prevalence of asthma and COPD. Respondents who drank a half liter or more of soft drinks each day had a substantially higher prevalence of asthma (14.7%) compared to those who did not consume soft drinks (11.9%) A similar relationship was seen in COPD where those who drank a half liter or more of soft drinks each day had a prevalence of asthma of 6.0%, compared to only 4.2% in those who did not consume soft drinks.

In the U.S. the CDC estimates 1 in 12 adults has asthma. Women are more likely than men to have asthma. Given these statistics moderating our soft drink intake seems like a simple way to potentially limit one’s risk of asthma.

(Source- Respirology (2012) 17)

This blog is a review of medical and scientific literature, and should only be used for informational purposes. It does not constitute medical or health advice, nor does it create a physician-patient relationship with anyone. Discuss any health concerns with your personal physician.

Sugary Beverages, Asthma and Children

This is the 2nd post in recognition of World Asthma Day, Tuesday May 2nd. This post highlights research from The Netherlands. Researchers took data from the Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy (PIAMA) birth cohort. For the PIAMA project pregnant mothers were recruited from the general population in The Netherlands, for children born in 1996/1997. Parents were asked to complete questionnaires each year until the children were 8, then again at age 11. The children completed a questionnaire themselves at age 11 as well.

 

For this cross-sectional study, 2651 children completed their questionnaires. This included questions regarding consumption of six different beverages including diet drinks, energy drinks, 100% fruit juice, sports drinks, sugar added drinks (including soda), and sweetened milk products. Concurrently, parents completed a questionnaire that included questions about asthma diagnosis and symptoms. 

Results of the study demonstrated that high consumption of 100% fruit juice, sugar added drinks (including soda), and high total sugar containing beverages in general was associated with increased asthma in children. In particular, as the consumption of 100% fruit juice and total sugar containing beverages went up, the risk for asthma increased as well.

The CDC estimates 10% of all children in the U.S. have asthma. The highest rate of asthma is 17% in non-Hispanic black children. Boys are more likely to have asthma than girls. With statistics this alarming, cutting back on sugar containing beverages seems like a simple way to help limit asthma in our children.

(Source- European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2015, 69)

This blog is a review of medical and scientific literature, and should only be used for informational purposes. It does not constitute medical or health advice, nor does it create a physician-patient relationship with anyone. Discuss any health care concerns with your personal physician.

 

Acupuncture Helps with Allergic Asthma

Tuesday May 2nd is recognized as World Asthma Day, and in recognition of this today’s posts will focus on asthma and it’s treatment. 

A recently published study from Germany looked at the use of acupuncture in a group of patients who had previously been diagnosed with allergic asthma. 357 subjects were randomized to either an acupuncture group (184) or a control group (173). In the acupuncture group subjects received three months of acupuncture. In the control group the first three months consisted of usual care for asthma, followed by three months of acupuncture.

In addition to the 357 randomized subjects there was an additional non-randomized group of 1088 subjects who were allocated only to acupuncture.

The primary endpoint of the study was the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ). The AQLQ is a validated questionnaire designed to assess the impact of functional problems on those adults with asthma. In addition to the AQLQ the Short Form-36 (SF-36) survey was administered. The SF-36 is designed to assess quality of life measures.

What the researchers discovered was that the allergic asthma patients treated with acupuncture had clinically significant improvements in both disease specific and general quality of life measures compared to those patients who only received routine care, after three months of treatment.

Two other interesting findings- the improvements in both the randomized and non-randomized acupuncture groups were stable at six months. Also, the level of training or experience of the acupuncturist did not seem to influence the results.

 Another finding of this study was that any side effects from acupuncture were minor, such as bruising or needle pain.

This well designed study from Germany provides support for the use of acupuncture as an additional therapy for those afflicted with asthma. Acupuncture appears well tolerated and effective in this study population.

(Source-Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Vol 23, Number 4, 2017)

This blog is a review of medical and scientific literature, and should only be used for informational purposes. It does not constitute medical or health advice, nor does it create a physician-patient relationship with anyone. Discuss any health concerns with your personal physician.