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Overview
As one of the most common chronic childhood illnesses, asthma affects millions of children and can be a very severe lung disease. The Children and Asthma in America survey reported almost one out of 10 (9.2 percent) American children 18 years of age and younger currently suffers from asthma. Fortunately, asthma medication and symptom-mitigating techniques do exist. However, this same survey also found that an alarming number of children are not receiving such treatments.
Considerations
Studying cortisol levels in children with asthma symptoms is a major area in asthma research, yielding some powerful associations. Cortisol is the primary stress hormone in the human body. Furthermore, it is the main natural glucocorticoid in humans; a class of steroid hormones. Cortisol levels are consistently higher in asthmatics, providing further evidence that this is an important area to study in searching for asthma cures and treatments.
Identification
Cortisol levels demonstrate an inverse relationship with nocturnal breathing. As serum cortisol levels decrease, nocturnal airway obstruction has shown to increase. This could explain why your child is having trouble breathing at night.
Theories/Speculation
In addition to being the major stress hormone in the body, cortisol also acts as a natural anti-inflammatory. Cortisol is a hormone secreted by the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis that provides anti-inflammatory signals to immune cells and follows a circadian rhythm (events occurring within a 24-hour period), climaxing early in the morning. Highlighting a strong association between cortisol levels in children with asthma symptoms is the fact that this climax happens simultaneously with the largest airway inflammation in asthmatics.
Treatment
"Youth with asthma have been shown to have lower daily cortisol output than healthy controls" (Landstra, Postma, Boezen, & Can Aalderen, 2002). As well, Capaldi and colleagues (Capaldi Ii, Handwerger, Richardson, & Stroud, 2005) found that earlier bedtimes and fewer sleep problems in youth were associated with more adaptive cortisol responses to acute lab stressors," reports the Oxford Journals. Since cortisol follows a normal 24-hour day, it helps to remember to follow through on this advice and enforce early bedtimes with your children. (See Resources below).
Significance
Pay special attention to the age of your child and the severity of their symptoms. In several studies, age was a consistent variable in the cortisol levels in children with asthma, illustrating a link between those levels and the amount of self-reported sleep and lung functioning. Cortisol secretion increases with age, so your child's health is most vulnerable at younger ages. For the best preventative approach, consider a steady monitoring of your child's symptoms, recording how they feel on a regular basis, noting the times of day they experience asthma flare-ups and symptoms.
