Nov 29, 2010
WELLINGTON - THE use of paracetamol for infants may be linked to the development of allergies and asthma later on, according to a report.
But more research is needed to clarify this and the benefits of paracetamol use for fever control still outweigh the potential of later allergy development, said Julian Crane, a professor at Otago University in Wellington and author of the report.
The report, which has appeared in 'Clinical and Experimental Allergy' journal, is based on the New Zealand Asthma and Allergy Cohort Study, which investigated use of paracetamol for 505 infants in Christchurch and 914 five and six-year-olds in Christchurch to see if they developed signs of asthma or allergic sensitivity.
'The major finding is that children who used paracetamol before the age of 15 months (90 per cent) were more than three times as likely to become sensitised to allergens and twice as likely to develop symptoms of asthma at six years old than children not using paracetamol,' Mr Crane said in a statement.
The research found that by six years of age, 95 per cent of the study sample was using paracetamol and there was a significant increased risk for asthma and wheezing.
But the findings depended on how much paracetamol was being used, with the risk greater for those with severe asthma symptoms. -- REUTERS
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