Warning to any parent who plans to give paracetamol to their young child

One study found that children taking paracetamol during the first two years of their life are more likely to suffer from asthma before the age of 18, especially if they have a genetic inheritance. particular.

Research presented at the International Congress of the European Society of Pneumology in Paris showed that the link between paracetamol use and asthma seemed stronger in those who had a particular variant of the glutathione S-transferase gene (GSTP1) .

But the study's authors pointed out that the results only showed that there was an association between paracetamol and asthma – not that paracetamol caused lung disease.

The NHS recommends paracetamol to treat most childhood diseases, including headaches, upset stomachs, earaches, and cold symptoms. It can also be used to reduce fever. The leading brand is Calpol.

Research at the University of Melbourne (Australia) covered 620 children followed from birth to age 18 in the Melbourne Atopy Cohort Study.

They had been recruited into the study before they were born because they were considered to be at high risk of developing an allergy-related disease because they had at least one family member (mother, father or sibling) reached of a self-reported allergic disease. (asthma, eczema, hay fever or severe food allergy).

After their birth, a research nurse phoned the family every four weeks for the first 15 months, then at 18 months and two years to ask how many days in the previous weeks the child had taken paracetamol .

When the children were 18 years old, they gave a blood or saliva sample, which was tested for variants of the GST genes: GSTT1, GSTM1 and GSTP1.

They were also evaluated for asthma, and a spirometry test was performed to measure the amount of air inhaled and exhaled when breathing through a mouthpiece.

The researchers found a variant of the GSTP1 – GSTP1 Ile / Ile gene (in which the amino acid Isoleucine (Ile) is inherited from both parents) – was associated with nearly twice as much risk of developing asthma.

Xin Dai, a nurse and doctoral student at the university, said: "We found that children with the GSTP1 Ile / Ile variant were 1.8 times more likely to develop asthma at 18 years of age compared to less exposed children.

"In contrast, increased exposure to paracetamol in children with other types of GSTP1 did not alter the risk of asthma.

"We also found effects in children who had a variant of GSTM1 in which a part did not work.

"In these children, the increasing use of paracetamol was associated with a small but significant reduction in the amount of air they could forcefully expel in one second to 18 years.

"Our results provide more evidence that the use of paracetamol in infants can have a detrimental effect on respiratory health in children with particular genetic profiles and could be a possible cause of asthma.

"There is growing evidence that the superfamily of GST genes, including three major classes, GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1, are associated with various diseases, including cancers, asthma, atherosclerosis, allergies, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. "

About the study, Neil Pearce, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said, "The idea that using paracetamol early in life could increase the risk of developing Asthma has been around for about 20 years. has been extraordinarily difficult to prove or disprove.

"The problem is that children do not get paracetamol early in life for no reason, they often get it because they have a respiratory infection.

"This can be the infection that increases the risk of asthma, not paracetamol.

"The picture is even more complicated because these children often receive antibiotics, which is also a possible risk factor for developing asthma.

"This study adds an important finding, namely that the association between early antibiotic use and the subsequent risk of asthma occurred in children with a particular genetic variant (genotype). no GSTM1).

"This may provide further evidence to support the idea that the association between early use of paracetamol and asthma may be causal, but it remains a long way to go before we can be more certain. "