According to News-Medical.Net, a new study from researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) finds a strong association between domestic violence and asthma.

‘Classic environmental triggers for asthma have been carefully studied, but there is less information on the role of stress in asthma episodes,’ says lead researcher S.V. Subramanian, Assistant Professor in the Department of Society, Human Development and Health at HSPH. ‘The risk posed by domestic violence, which you can learn more here, – and perhaps other psychosocial factors – could be as high as some well known environmental risk factors such as smoking.’

The study found that women who had experienced domestic violence in the past year had a 37 percent increased risk of asthma. Additionally, for women who had not experienced domestic violence themselves but lived in a household where a woman had been abused in the past year, there was a 21 percent increased risk of asthma than for women who did not live in such households. Living in a household where a woman was abused also increased the risk for reported asthma in children and adult men.

But the researchers caution that the study cannot prove a causal link between domestic violence and asthma. There are several possible mechanisms to explain such a strong relationship between the two. Exposure to violence and psychological stress is known to affect the immune system. Also, those exposed to violence may adopt certain ‘Coping’ behaviors that predispose them to asthma, such as smoking cigarettes.

See our Asthma Solution Guide to learn more about asthma.