Children of parents who have had tuberculosis (TB) may be at an increased risk of developing asthma and respiratory symptoms. The Respiratory Health in Northern Europe (RHINE) study recently shed light on this genetic phenomenon.
Evidence gathered through murine studies has long suggested a connection between parental infections and the immunity of their children across generations. This study looked specifically at TB and asthma.
The study leveraged questionnaires to research the association between the two and looked at symptoms through the analysis of multiple logistic regression. The study also accounted for the education, smoking habits and asthma condition of parents.
Results concluded that of the 8,323 study participants, there was a higher risk of asthma in children with a history of parental TB as compared to offspring without parental TB. The study’s authors concluded that the immunological impact of infections in parents might be transmitted to influence offspring phenotype in humans.
