Parents simply dread to hear the A-word

‘Kids are far more susceptible to respiratory disorders as they have smaller bronchial tracts’

MUMBAI: A pilot study conducted by the Environment Pollution Research Centre (EPRC) of KEM Hospital’s department of chest medicine has come up with an alarming finding: nearly one in six children in the age group of 12-15 suffers from some respiratory disorder or the other.

According to Dr Amita Athavale, professor and head of the chest medicine department and EPRC chief, up to five per cent of any population is likely to have breathing problems. “But the number of students with problems in the pilot study was almost three times the acceptable figure,” she said.

“There is a definite increase in the number of young patients seeking treatment for respiratory problems,” said Dr Pramod Niphadkar, secretary of the Asthma and Bronchitis Association of India. According to him, in the last five years, the number of patients below the age of 15 has doubled.

What’s worse, most of them don’t know it, and their parents don’t even want to know. “When parents hear asthma mentioned in context of their kids, they look at it as an unseen disability,” said Dr Niphadkar. “They just dread listening to the ‘A’ word.” Paediatrician SN Acharya agreed, “When the parents of one of my female patients found out she had asthma, their first thought was, who will marry her.” He said that it is up to the physician or the paediatrician to explain the disorder to the parents to get over the stigma. According to experts, respiratory illnesses are an indicator of the health of the environment and children are far more susceptible than adults. “This is because children have smaller airways (bronchial tracts),” said Dr Athavale. Mumbai has a hot and humid climate, which suits dust mites. Geographically, the city is at a disadvantage, say chest physicians.

But there are several other reasons that act as ‘triggers’ for asthma. “Not everyone in the family or a community will be equally affected by these triggers, as some people are more susceptible than the other,” said Dr Athavale. The person’s genes and reaction to changing environment are factors responsible for causing asthma.

Dr Niphadkar said the rising incidence of asthma is also attributable to changing lifestyles. “The problem starts right from birth, as the mother’s lifestyle is unhealthy,” he said. “Urban mothers eat unhealthy foods during pregnancy and do not breastfeed their babies long enough. Besides, in a city like Mumbai, there are so many triggering factors like smog, exhaust fumes, and chemicals used in the house,” he said.

Dr Suresh V Rang, chest physician at Jaslok, said, “The problem in a city like Mumbai is that high-rise buildings have come up by the coast. This traps heat, humidity, and pollution in the interior. That is why you will notice that Parel, Lalbaug, and Dadar are heavily polluted.”