A new study has found that taking paracetamol at a young age could put children at a 'higher risk' of developing asthma later in life.
Researchers have discovered that children with a certain genetic makeup who take the painkiller during their first two years of life may be at a higher risk of developing asthma by the age of 18.
However, authors have stressed that the study shows only an association between paracetamol and asthma - not that paracetamol caused the condition.
The European Respiratory Society International Congress, in Paris, showed the link between paracetamol use and asthma seemed strongest in those who had a particular variant of the glutathione S-transferase (GST) gene, GSTP1.
Researchers found one variant of the GSTP1 gene - GSTP1 Ile/Ile was associated with almost twice the risk of developing asthma.
Over 600 children studied
The research, carried out at the University of Melbourne, Australia, looked at 620 children who had been followed from birth to 18 years old as part of the Melbourne Atopy Cohort Study.
They were chosen and recruited to participate in the study because they were considered to be potentially at high risk of developing an allergy-related disease as they had at least one family member with a self-reported allergic disease, the findings said.
Xin Dai, a nurse and PhD student at the university, said of the research: "We found that children with the GSTP1 Ile/Ile variant had 1.8 times higher risk of developing asthma by the age of 18 years for each doubling of the days of paracetamol exposure when compared to children who were less exposed."
However, it's important to note that this idea is extremely difficult to prove or disprove, added Neil Pearce, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
"The problem is that children are not given paracetamol early in life for no reason. They are often given it because they have [a] respiratory infection. It may be the infection which increases the risk of asthma, not the paracetamol. The picture is further complicated because these children are often also given antibiotics, which is also a possible risk factor for developing asthma."
