New test could foretell adulthood asthma risk in kids

A new study into the genetic risks for asthma could lead to a test which predicts which children will never grow out of it.

According to The Lancet, scientists found that those at higher genetic risk of asthma were 36 percent more likely to develop serious, life-long asthma than those with lower risk.

But they said it was too soon to be used as a reliable clinical test, the BBC reported.

Asthma UK said that the findings could help identify people whose asthma could become severe.

Earlier studies had linked several genes to small increases in asthma risk.

This study, led by researchers from Duke University in North Carolina, identified 15 separate locations in the human genome which are associated with asthma.

Using this knowledge combined with data from a major New Zealand health study of more than 1,000 people since birth, the researchers were able to calculate the genetic risk score for 880 individuals.

They then tracked the development and progression of their asthma from early childhood through to their late 30s.

Those with higher genetic risk scores were more likely to have severe asthma which continued into adulthood, and they more often developed problems with lung function.

They were also more likely to miss school or work and to be admitted to hospital because of their asthma.

At present, there are no tests that can predict which children will recover as they grow older.