Is bronchial asthma hereditary? A detailed explanation of the relationship between asthma and heredity

Among the causes of bronchial asthma, one is heredity. In fact, it should be said that what is inherited is a susceptible constitution, namely an allergic constitution. And this allergic constitution does not necessarily mean the person will still develop bronchial asthma, but rather that they are prone to allergic diseases, because it also depends on external triggering factors. For example, after a major migration, when the external environment changed from temperate to tropical, all the original external triggering factors disappeared, so bronchial asthma became less likely.

Bronchial asthma

However, after a major migration, the new environment will still contain new allergens, that is, triggering factors, and allergic skin diseases and so on may develop as a result. This is actually just like human constitution: the descendants of strong people and of long-lived families will likewise be healthy, strong, and long-lived descendants. Having a susceptible constitution indicates that resistance in this respect is not strong. Therefore, in families with bronchial asthma, the disease rate among descendants is higher than the disease rate in the general population.

Moreover, the closer the kinship relationship, the higher the probability of being prone to bronchial asthma. If active preventive and treatment measures are not taken, the condition will become more severe, and the disease rate among relatives will also be higher. Some statements directly say that asthma is related to polygenic inheritance. But asthma differs from other hereditary diseases, because allergens and the inherited susceptible constitution stand in opposition to each other; without any intervention, susceptibility, incidence, and severity of the condition will all climb in the opposite direction.

Heredity chart of bronchial asthma

Some studies also show that patients who have had extrinsic asthma will exhibit multigenerational genetic phenomena, with a heritability as high as 56%-76%. In the case of intrinsic asthma, the chromosomes involve recessive inheritance. Moreover, the younger the age of onset, the greater the heritability, and when both parents have intrinsic or extrinsic asthma, the disease rate among their children is as high as over 75%. When one parent has asthma, the disease rate among their children is 50%.

If you have questions or need help, you can call 01062170649 13269852331