Grant: Team Grant: CEEHRC - Full application

Asthma is a common chronic disorder that affects both children and adults and causes decreased quality of life for those who suffer from the illness and for their families. Asthma has several associated symptoms including wheezing, coughing and mucus production. These symptoms vary among individuals in their range and severity. Asthma affects as many as 300 million people in the world and is the cause of 1 in every 250 deaths world-wide. The burden of asthma can be calculated in both direct costs (medical care, drugs) and indirect costs mortality, quality of life, time lost from work or school, and reduced productivity). The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) report ranks Canada as 6th in the world in the prevalence of asthma in 13 and 14 year-old children. Asthma and related phenotypes are complex diseases with multiple genetic susceptibility variants, some of which interact with environmental factors. We need to better understand the causes of asthma 1) to reduce its prevalence; 2) to design better prevention and intervention measures; 3) to develop cost-effective management strategies; and 4) to improve diagnosis and treatment. There is a genetic predisposition to asthma but increasing evidence shows that environmental insults such as smoking exposure, pollution, viruses, and common allergens are involved in the development of asthma. This study is designed to see how these genetic and environmental factors interact to contribute to asthma. This knowledge could lead to preventative public health policies and/or new therapies.