Child maltreatment and asthma

Abstract

A growing body of evidence suggests a potential link between child maltreatment and asthma. Determining whether and how child maltreatment causes or worsens asthma would have major implications for disease prevention and treatment, as well as public health policy. In this article, we examine epidemiologic studies of child maltreatment and asthma and asthma-related outcomes, review the evidence for potential mechanisms underlying the child maltreatment-asthma association, and discuss future directions. To date, a child maltreatment-asthma link has been reported in most studies of children and adults, though the type of maltreatment associated with asthma has differed across studies. Such discrepant findings are likely explained by differences in study design and quality. All studies have been limited by potential under-reporting of child maltreatment and selection bias, and nonthorough assessment of asthma. Despite these limitations, the aggregate evidence from epidemiologic studies suggests a possible causal link between child maltreatment and asthma, though the relative contributions of various types of maltreatment (physical, sexual, emotional, or neglect) are unclear. To date, there is insufficient evidence of an association between child maltreatment and lung function in children or adults. Limited evidence further suggests that child maltreatment could influence the development or severity of asthma through direct effects on stress responses and anxiety- or depressive-related disorders, immunity, and airway inflammation, as well as indirect effects such as increased obesity risk. Future prospective studies should aim to adequately characterize both child maltreatment and asthma, while also assessing relevant covariates and biomarkers of stress, immune, and therapeutic responses.

Keywords: adults; asthma; child maltreatment; children.

FIGURE 1

Potential direct and indirect effects of child maltreatment on asthma