Preliminary findings indicate that youngsters afflicted with asthma have more pronounced memory difficulties than their peers who do not develop the condition.
Researchers suggest that early onset of asthma in children can have a long-term impact on memory, and potentially affect it negatively.
Levels of memory loss may have unforeseen, persistent effects, potentially that also increase the likelihood of contracting diseases such as dementia.
Scientists observed in a study involving 473 children that those who started experiencing asthma at an earlier age, and consequently had the condition for a longer duration, also experienced a slower improvement in memory over a two-year period.
The Director at Davis, Center for Mind and Brain in the College of Letters and Science, stated: “This research highlights the significance of examining asthma as a possible cause of cognitive problems in children.”
Several health conditions, such as heart disease, may elevate the likelihood of cognitive challenges in children.
‘It’s essential to comprehend the elements that could heighten or safeguard against potential risks.’
Previous research involving older subjects and animal models has linked asthma to an elevated risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, which are characterized by difficulties in short-term and long-term memory recall.
Nicholas Christopher-Hayes, a PhD candidate in psychology at the University of California, Davis, who co-authored the study, added: “Asthma may predispose children to a trajectory that could ultimately raise their risk of developing dementia later in life.”
The research study did not investigate the underlying mechanism behind asthma-related memory problems, but the investigation pointed out possible contributing factors including lengthy inflammatory responses linked to asthma and intermittent interruptions in cerebral oxygen supply caused by asthma attacks.
The research drew upon data from 2,062 children aged nine to ten, who suffer from asthma, to examine its potential impact on episodic memory and other cognitive abilities.
Mankind recollects and holds onto the memories of past experiences and the sensations and feelings they provoked, such as the occurrences and individuals and items that were involved.
A following group of smaller sample consisting of 473 children was examined over a period of two years.
Research findings, reported in the Jama Network Open journal, were based on data gathered from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, initiated in 2015 as part of the extensive Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study involving nearly 12,000 children.
Read more
