continued...
So, "clearly, not every kid with allergic disease has increased cardiovascular disease," Silverberg said. "Based on other studies, we suspect that it is mostly kids with more severe disease, though we were not able to examine that in this particular study."
Kids with another autoimmune illness, the skin condition eczema, didn't appear to face a higher risk of high cholesterol and high blood pressure. They did tend to pack on more extra pounds, however.
So what might possibly link allergies, asthma and heart issues?
It's possible that inflammation related to allergies could boostcholesterol and blood pressure level, said Dr. Gregg Fonarow, a professor of cardiology at University of California, Los Angeles. Indeed, researchers have linked diseases like psoriasis that causeinflammation to an increased risk of heart disease, he noted.
Silverberg said it's also possible that the diseases could cause problems through other means, such as poor sleep.
For his part, Fonarow speculated that differences in physical activity,diet and caloric intake between kids with and without the conditions could make a difference.
What to do?
Fonarow said parents shouldn't be especially concerned about the findings. But Silverberg said parents should understand that allergy-related diseases, especially when severe, can lead to other health problems.
"It is important to recognize these harmful effects in order to prevent them or treat them early," he said. "Parents should talk to their pediatrician and specialists if their child has allergic disease that is not well-controlled or if they notice that their children are gaining weight or not able to do things other kids their age can do as a result of allergic disease."
And physicians could screen kids with severe allergic disease for high blood pressure and cholesterol, he said.
The study appears Dec. 8 in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology.