Abstract
What roles do genes and the environment play in the development and expression of asthma? This question has intrigued scientists since Cooke and Vander Veer (1) conducted the first twin studies of atopy more than 75 years ago. Since then, our understanding of human genetics has advanced enormously, although our knowledge of the role of hereditary factors in the etiology of IgE-mediated disease has accumulated at a slower pace (2,3). This chapter will review the genetics and epidemiology of asthma and illustrate recent advances in the quantitative genetic modeling of asthma liability. We first distinguish asthma from other respiratory disorders and symptoms—wheezy breathing, bronchial hyperreactivity, and bronchitis—and then review asthma prevalence, incidence, mortality rates, and genetic aspects. The environmental risk factors for asthma are also briefly reviewed.
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Waller, N.G., Teuber, S.S., Gershwin, M.E. (1994). The Genetics and Epidemiology of Asthma. In: Gershwin, M.E., Halpern, G.M. (eds) Bronchial Asthma. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-0297-4_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-0297-4_1
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