Getting Poor Kids out of Poor Neighborhoods Helps Even More Than We Thought

Slate

By Elissa Strauss

It’s well known that poverty is not good for children. Kids who grow up poor havehigher rates of asthma, obesity, and poor language development and are likely to experience toxic stress, which can lead to lifelong physical, psychological, and behavioral difficulties.

New research from Eric Chyn, an economist from the University of Michigan, tells us that a good way to obviate some of these effects is by allowing more poor parents to raise their children in economically diverse neighborhoods...

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Forever Friendship proven Again, Childrens grow with Dog faces 15% lower risk of asthma – San Diego Daily Science

Albany Daily Star

Forever Friendship proven Again, A team of Swedish scientists used national register information in more than one million Swedish children to study the association of early life contact with dogs and subsequent development of asthma.

What is Asthma

Asthma (from the Greek ?????, ásthma, “panting”) is a common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction and bronchospasm. Common symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...

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Childhood Asthma Is So Overdiagnosed That Inhalers Have Become A 'Fashion Accessory,' Experts Say

Medical Daily

By Ali Venosa

Anyone suffering from asthma knows that going undiagnosed would be annoying at best and life-threatening at worst. In the past, doctors did under-diagnose the condition, but someexperts are saying the pendulum has now swung too far in the other direction — asthma is being overdiagnosed, and inhalers have “almost become a fashion accessory.”

Professor Andrew Bush and Dr. Louise Fleming of Imperial College and Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust say the inhalers are being dispensed with no good reason, and this is a significant issue not only because of the high cost of inhalers, but because of their side effects as well...

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Ozone rule will protect children

The Almanac

By Dr. Edward Ketyer

As a pediatrician, I see children on a daily basis suffering from asthma and other respiratory ailments. The Environmental Protection Agency’s new ozone rules can help these children breathe easier – but they have to be implemented in a timely and effective manner. Some in Congress and industry seek to stop these rules, leaving children and their families breathing seriously unhealthy air.

High levels of ozone in the air can lead to decreased lung function, coughing, chest pain and shortness of breath. Long-term exposure to ozone pollution can permanently scar children’s lungs. Children are particularly vulnerable to ozone pollution because they spend more time outdoors than adults, breathe more rapidly and inhale more pollutants per pound of body weight...

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Researchers develop tool to help track and treat childhood asthma

CTV News Calgary

By Colleen Schmidt

Asthma is the most common chronic disease during the formative years and Alberta researchers are working on a project to improve the care for children affected by the respiratory condition.

The project involves the development of an electronic care guide that family physicians and their staff can use to better manage the care they provide to asthma patients...

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