Paracetamol linked to asthma in children
26 September 2008
The use of paracetamol should not be a concern for parents or carers who are worried about the development of asthma in their children 
Leanne Male, assistant director of research, Asthma UK
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Babies given paracetamol may be more likely to develop asthma as young children, the results of a worldwide study suggest.
The popular painkiller may also increase the risk of eczema and hay fever in children, researchers have found.
Their study, published in the Lancet, adds to previous research already pointing to a link between paracetamol and asthma. But because of the 'cross-sectional' study design - which looks at a snap shot of a group of people at one time - it can't truly establish cause and effect.
"The findings suggest, but do not prove, that paracetamol use in childhood may increase the risk of developing asthma," lead author Professor Richard Beasley told the Bupa health information team.
The scientists analysed data from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). The programme involved more than 200,000 children in more than 30 countries around the world.
Parents with children aged six to seven years were asked to fill in a questionnaire about any asthma, eczema and hay fever symptoms in their children. The volunteers were also asked if they gave their baby paracetamol for fever in the first year of life, and how frequently they had used it in the previous 12 months.
Professor Beasley and his team found that children given paracetamol in their first year of life were almost 50 percent more likely to have asthma symptoms when aged six or seven. They also found that the more paracetamol a child was currently being given, the more severe their asthma symptoms were.
Children given paracetamol, both in the first year of life and at the ages of six or seven, also had a greater risk of eczema and hay fever.
The scientists stress that the results of their study are not conclusive. Because participants were asked to remember how much paracetamol they gave their children, 'recall bias' may have influenced the results: parents with children who developed asthma may have remembered using paracetamol more clearly than the parents of healthy children.
In addition, there may have been other reasons for the association that the researchers didn't take into account. For example, it may be that the true cause of asthma also causes pain or fever in babies, and that the paracetamol was used as a treatment.
Leanne Male, assistant director of research for the charity Asthma UK, commented: "Despite a great deal of research being carried out, we still don't know how important different lifestyle and genetic factors are in affecting the development of asthma."
"At this stage, however, the use of paracetamol should not be a concern for parents or carers who are worried about the development of asthma in their children."
Paracetamol is a valuable medicine for reducing fevers and controlling pain in children and babies. It's estimated that it accounts for around five percent of all medicines dispensed in the USA.
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