Scientists have identified three risk factors for respiratory disorders in children

Children who started eating fish before they were nine months old were less likely to suffer from breathing problems in preschool age. At the same time, children who were treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics in the first week of life, or whose mother took paracetamol during pregnancy, had an increased risk of developing snoring in preschool age. These are the results of a large-scale Swedish study published in the latest issue of the journal Acta Paediatrica.

The researchers analyzed questionnaires from 4,171 randomly selected families with children aged 6 months, 12 months, or 4.5 years.

"Periodical breathing disorders are a very common clinical problem in preschool children, so there is a need for a better understanding of the mechanisms that cause this pathology," said lead author Dr Emma Goksor from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

"The aim of our study was to identify important risk and protective factors for the disease," the researcher explains. "We believe that our results provide useful information about three important factors involved in respiratory disorders among preschool children."

The researchers looked at children who had three or more episodes of wheezing, including those who did not use asthma medications (inhaled corticosteroids), and compared them with children who did not have breathing problems. The group of children with breathing problems was divided into subgroups: children who had episodic breathing problems of viral origin, and children with breathing problems due to chronic exposure to factors such as allergens, tobacco smoke or exercise.

Key findings of the study:

General prevalence

• One in five children had at least one episode of breathing difficulty, and one in 20 had intermittent difficulty (three or more episodes) during the year. Of these, 75% were taking asthma medications, and more than 50% had asthma diagnosed by a doctor.
• More than half of children (57%) with recurrent respiratory distress were diagnosed with a viral infection

Eating fish up to nine months

• Eating fish (white fish, salmon, flounder) before nine months of age almost halved the risk of developing breathing problems.
• Fish consumption reduces the risk of developing allergies, eczema in infancy and allergic rhinitis in preschool age, as well as asthma.

Antibiotic treatment in the first week of life

• Broad-spectrum antibiotic use in the first week of life was associated with a double risk of recurrent respiratory distress in children under 4.5 years of age. Only 3.6% of children who received antibiotics did not experience a disorder.

Use of paracetamol during pregnancy

• Less than a third of mothers (28.4%) took medication during pregnancy, with 5.3% of women taking paracetamol.
• Taking paracetamol during pregnancy increases the risk of breathing problems in children by 60%.

The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for the development of respiratory distress in preschool age, with particular emphasis on prenatal paracetamol use, early antibiotic exposure and fish consumption.

The study results clearly show that while fish has a protective effect on breathing problems, antibiotic use in children during the first week of life and paracetamol use by women during pregnancy increase the risk of breathing problems in the baby.

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