Allergies and Asthma Linked to ADHD
ACN Latitudes has been urging parents to explore a connection between ADHD symptoms and foods, the immune system, and allergies since we began our organization. Research now supports this.
A study in the August 2013 Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology focused on 844 boys in the UK with ADHD and compared them with about 3,500 children without the condition. Study findings indicate that those with ADHD were more likely also to have asthma (40% more likely), allergies (50% more likely to have a prescription for allergy medicine) and skin infections (50% more likely) than other boys without without ADHD.
“Our study provides additional evidence to support the hypothesis that atopic disorders, such as asthma and food allergies increase the risk of developing ADHD,” the authors wrote, adding that further research is necessary to determine just how these conditions might be connected.
The authors point out that an increase in ADHD cases has been paralleled by an increase in allergic diseases like asthma and allergies, the researchers reported. This study lends support to the emerging evidence that childhood ADHD is associated with atopic diseases and impetigo. Further interdisciplinary research is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms and to evaluate targeted preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic interventions.”
The authors also suggest that foods such as milk that cause an allergic reaction may trigger symptoms of both ADHD and allergic asthma.
See research abstract here.
