In the first study to assess a connection between cases of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and asthma, in the same population, over the same time period, researchers found that patients who are diagnosed with asthma are at a significantly higher risk of a diagnosis of GERD. Researchers from Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom examined data taken from the UK General Practice Research Database. Researchers followed a cohort of 5,653 patients recently diagnosed with GERD and 8,105 patients without GERD or asthma, for a mean time of 3 years and identified 103 cases of asthma in the GERD cohort and 99 cases of asthma in the control group. During the same study period, researchers followed 9,712 patients with newly diagnosed asthma and 19,334 control subjects without asthma or GERD, for a mean of 2.8 years and found 219 patients with asthma developed GERD, compared to 241 control subjects who developed GERD during the study period. Patients with asthma were most likely to receive a subsequent diagnosis of GERD within the first year of their diagnosis of asthma. Patients with a diagnosis of GERD were not found to be at significantly higher risk of developing asthma. The study appears in the July issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.

WOOD SMOKE MAY CAUSE LUNG CANCER IN NONSMOKERS

Burning wood may be associated with lung cancer, even with people who do not smoke, suggests a new study. Scientists from Mexico gathered blood samples from 62 patients with lung cancer, 9 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and 9 control subjects. Of the patients with lung cancer, 23 were tobacco smokers (37.1 percent), 24 were exposed to wood smoke (38.7 percent), and 15 were not in either category (24.2 percent). Study results show that 38.7 percent of the patients with lung cancer were nonsmokers who were exposed to conti
'"/>

Contact: Jennifer Stawarz
jstawarz@chestnet.org
847-498-8306
American College of Chest Physicians
11-Jul-2005