Perth researchers test stress link to asthma

Scientists at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research have launched an innovative project to test the relationship between stress and asthma.

The project team is now calling for volunteers aged between 12 and 14 years to take a simple breath test that will simulate a reaction to stress.

Professor Peter Sly said that while previous research has suggested links between psychological stress and asthma,  this project will look at the actual science of what's happening in the body.

"While we know that there is a connection, what we don't know is the fine chemistry of how emotional stress causes physical reactions in the body," he said.

"During stressful situations the adrenal gland produces hormones that help the body to respond. It's thought that this may also have links to the immune system."

Professor Sly said the first step of the project is to develop a test  to simulate a person's reaction to stress.

The volunteers will be asked to inhale a single breath of a special mix of oxygen and carbon dioxide that will give a momentary feeling of breathlessness.

Researchers will then take samples of their saliva and measure their blood pressure over a 40 minute period.

Up to 40 per cent of children in Western Australia suffer from asthma and it remains the most common reason for hospitalisation of children.