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Children with asthma are twice as likely to develop depression as are non-asthmatic kids, according to a new study from the University of Buffalo. The Buffalo researchers also discovered that children with asthma and depression may respond differently to emotional stimuli, and this, in turn, may worsen their asthma symptoms.

Dr. Bruce Miller and Dr. Beatrice Wood studied 90 asthmatic children ages seven to 17 years old. Half the group also suffered from depression. The children were monitored as they watched scary, sad, and happy scenes from movies.

"Children with asthma and depression symptoms showed a preponderance of parasympathetic over sympathetic nervous system reactivity," Dr. Miller said. "This imbalance could explain the increased airway resistance that we found in depressed asthmatic children in our study."

This study appeared in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Labels: depression, health risks, asthma

Posted By: Aspen/CRC