Air pollution primes children for asthma-related cockroach allergy
Wednesday, February 6, 2013 - 12:00
in Health & Medicine
An allergic reaction to cockroaches is a major contributor to asthma in urban children, but new research suggests that the insects are just one part of a more complex story. Very early exposure to certain components of air pollution can increase the risk of developing a cockroach allergy by age 7 and children with a common mutation in a gene called GSTM may be especially vulnerable.