Asthma risk doubles in civilians subjected to war trauma
Asthma risk doubles in civilians who have been subjected to war trauma, scientists find
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By Adam Leveridge
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Monday, 15, Mar 2010 11:00
The risk of developing asthma doubles among civilians who have been subjected to war trauma, a report has found today.
Research in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health studied the trauma and asthma rates among older Kuwaitis following the 1990 Iraqi invasion and occupation.
The researchers found that living through the trauma of war seems to increase the risk of developing asthma. Those who are most traumatised were found to be twice as likely to develop the condition as those who are least traumatised by their experiences of war, the research suggests.
The findings are based on a random sample of just over 2,000 Kuwaiti civilians, aged between 50 and 69, who endured the Iraqi invasion and seven month occupation of their country in 1990.
Between 2003 and 2005 the group were quizzed about their health, including a diagnosis of asthma after liberation; experiences of the war; and lifestyle factors, such as smoking and weight.
The researchers used a validated questionnaire, the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, supplemented with face to face interviews to capture individual experiences.
Around one in six men and one in five women did not experience trauma during the war. But two thirds of the men and over half of the women feared for their lives. Among the 413 participants with a low war related stress score, only one reported having been assaulted; three said they had been arrested; and 28 had had their house searched. None had witnessed torture, rape, or executions.
But among the 517 with a high stress score, around one in 10 had been arrested; one in six had been assaulted; and more than half had witnessed torture. New cases of asthma after liberation had been diagnosed in 6.6 per cent of the men and just under one in 10 of the women; with a direct correlation between the amount of trauma experienced and the risk of developing asthma, even after adjusting for factors likely to influence the results, including exposure to air pollution as a result of burning oil fires.
"Although prior research has documented the significant and persistent psychological toll of war, these findings implicated even broader health effects," the authors of the study concluded.