Exposure to air pollution has been linked to worsening of asthma and COPD symptoms, heart attack, and hypertension. Air pollution is a complex mixture of gases and particulate matter that can range in size from 2.5 microns to 10 microns, or between 7-30 times smaller than the width of a human hair. These particles can…
Approximately 17% of children in the US are considered obese, which shockingly includes around 8% of children under the age of 5. Obesity at such an early age can put children at risk for life long illnesses including: type-2 diabetes, asthma, hypertension, sleep apnea, and liver disease. Mirroring the rates of obesity in the US,…
Smokers have a higher risk for asthma and children exposed to cigarette smoke at home are at a higher risk of having or developing asthma. Mothers who have a child with asthma eventually may quit smoking in order to prevent their children from having asthma attacks that require hospitalization. What we don’t know is if…
Asthma is a disease that makes breathing difficult for 2.4 million Canadians. It is caused by excessive inflammation and abnormally thick airway walls. There are numerous known risk factors for asthma including genetics but much is still unknown about the development of the disease. Asthma is part of the atopic march, a phenomenon that often…
Obesity is a problem that continues to grow out of hand with more than 29% of Canadians and over 32% of Americans being classified as obese. Far from being just a problem of weight, obesity can put someone at risk for numerous other conditions including: heart disease, type-2 diabetes, stroke, cancer, depression, hypertension, and more.…
Autism is a complex disorder with numerous suspected causes that include genetic abnormalities, exposure to certain prescription drugs during pregnancy, a children born to older parents. At the heart of it autism is considered to be a problem of abnormal brain development that may result in an inability to prune unnecessary neurons from the brain.…
Exposure to certain triggers can cause patients with asthma to suffer exacerbations and become hospitalized with an asthma attack. These stays in hospital can be long and in severe cases can result in visits to the intensive care unit. Triggers of exacerbations include allergens (animal dander, pollen, mold), weather changes, chest infections, influenza, and cigarette smoke…
Asthma is a chronic disease affecting 235 million people worldwide and affecting 8.5% of all Canadians. The common symptoms include chest tightness, wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath that can be sudden. Currently asthma is the most common childhood chronic disease, affecting 13% of Canadian children and accounting for 50% of all emergency department visits…
We are beginning to understand more about how autism begins and the mounting evidence suggests that it is a combination of genetic factors and environmental exposures during pregnancy. There has also been mounting evidence that a family history of immune disorders is associated with autism (autism spectrum disorder ASD). Specifically, mothers with auto-immune disorders have an…
Your lungs continue to develop well after you are born usually until the age of 3 but maybe even into your late teens. This means that any exposure to harmful compounds (cigarette smoke, pollution, toxic fumes) could likely have profound impacts on the way your lungs grow. Alterations in the way your lungs grow could…
