THE ROLE OF GENETICS IN DEVELOPING ASTHMA

Genes have been shown to play a significant role in asthma development, and researchers have called asthma a “highly heritable condition.” Although there are many factors that contribute to asthma, and a family history of asthma does not necessarily mean that a person will have the condition, a 2014 study showed that a person’s risk of developing asthma is 70% genetic. Environmental factors also play a large role; some adult-onset asthmas like occupational asthma are not considered genetic, even if a person is genetically predisposed. Other risk factors include obesity, preexisting allergies, and smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke. Genetic susceptibility to asthma can come from an inherited gene mutation or from a single genetic variation.

P.S. A parent or sibling with asthma increases the risk of developing asthma to 25%; the risk increases to 50% if both parents have asthma. The presence of environmental factors increases the risk even more.

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