Colds Riskier for Those With Asthma

They're not more prone to catching them, but need to be wary of complications

FRIDAY, March 8, 2002 (HealthDayNews) -- If you're asthmatic, you'll be glad to know that a new study says you're not at increased risk of catching the common cold.

On the other hand, if you do catch a cold, you're more likely to suffer longer and have more complications.

Researchers from Southampton University General Hospital in England originally suspected that asthmatics might be more susceptible to rhinovirus, the virus that causes the common cold, because people with asthma have higher levels of a substance that acts as a receptor for the virus.

Dr. Derek Johnson, an asthma and allergy specialist at Temple University Children's Medical Center in Philadelphia, who was not involved in the study, says, "This receptor acts like a docking station for rhinovirus, and there's more of this receptor in asthma patients. The theory was that since there's more places for the rhinovirus to dock in people with asthma, they would have more infections."

But the British study found this wasn't the case.

For the study, which appears in tomorrow's issue of the journal, The Lancet, researchers recruited 76 "cohabitating couples" between the ages of 18 and 50. One person in each couple had asthma, while the other did not.

Samples of nasal secretions were taken from each study participant every two weeks over a period of four months. The volunteers also kept daily diaries of cold and/or asthma symptoms.

Fifty-one of the volunteers came down with at least one cold during the study. Of those, about 10 percent of the people with asthma had rhinovirus during the study period, compared to 8.5 percent of those without asthma. After adjusting these numbers for the gender of the volunteer or for medication use, the researchers say the difference between the two groups wasn't statistically significant.

However, the asthmatics did develop more lower respiratory tract infections as a result of their colds. Twelve out of 28 asthmatics with colds developed these extra infections, while only four out of 23 non-asthmatics with colds did. The study did not describe the type or severity of the respiratory infections, which can include bronchitis and pneumonia.

"Asthma patients have hyperirritable airways," says Dr. Clifford Bassett, a clinical instructor of medicine at New York University School of Medicine. "That asthma patients might have significantly more problems is common sense."

In the study, colds lasted an average of three to five days for people with asthma and three days for those without. Lower respiratory tract infections lasted an average of two to five days for asthmatics; volunteers without asthma had an average of zero days.

The bottom line, according to both Johnson and Bassett, is that asthmatics need to know they're more likely to develop another infection or have worsening asthma when they catch a cold.

Johnson recommends that asthmatics start using their "rescue" (generally, albuterol) inhalers regularly at the first sign of a cold.

Bassett advises they use their peak flow monitors (a device that measures how much air you can blow out) regularly, but especially when they have a cold. He also suggests that asthmatics check in with their doctors when they have a cold, because they may need to be evaluated for complications.

What to Do: For more information on asthma and colds, read this article from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. The National Jewish Medical and Research Center offers advice for kids on how to avoid catching colds, and explains how colds can affect children with asthma.

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