Kids born to mums on heartburn medication are ‘a THIRD more likely to get asthma’
The findings have prompted calls for further research into the cause of asthma, which effects 5.4m Brits
KIDS born to mums who take common heartburn drugs are "a third more likely to get asthma", experts warn.
Hundreds of thousands of mums-to-be could be taking the medication, known as proton pump inhibitors.
Heartburn, also known as acid reflux, occurs when stomach acid backs up into the oesophagus, causing irritation and damage.
The condition is very common in pregnancy, affecting around eight in 10 of nearly 800,000 mums-to-be each year in the UK.
It is particularly likely to strike when a woman is expecting because of hormonal changes and pressure on the stomach from the growing womb.
Sufferers are often prescribed or take over the counter medication, to help reduce the build up of stomach acid.
Drugs called H2-receptor antagonists and proton pump inhibitors can help to block the acid reflux.
They are considered safe to use during pregnancy because they do not affect the development of the baby.
These include omeprazole and lansoprazole, which are sold over the counter as Zanprol, among others.
It is important to stress that this association does not prove that the medicines caused asthma in these children and further research is needed to better understand this link
Professor Aziz Sheikh
In the past, scientists have suggested the drugs could increase a child's risk of developing allergies, by impacting on their young immune systems.
But, studies to investigate that link have fallen short of providing a definite answer.
Now, boffins at the University of Edinburgh say a potential link between the drugs and childhood asthma warrants further investigations.
But, they said their findings should not influence the advice given to expectant mums, at this stage.
The researchers, led by experts at the universities of Edinburgh and Tampere in Finland, reviewed eight previous studies that had examined health records involving more than 1.3 million children.
The team found that children born to mothers who had been prescribed acid-blocking drugs during pregnancy were at least a third more likely to have visited a doctor for symptoms of asthma.
Professor Aziz Sheikh, co-director of the Asthma UK centre for applied research at the University of Edinburgh, said: "Our study reports an association between the onset of asthma in children and their mothers' use of acid-suppressing medication during pregnancy.
"It is important to stress that this association does not prove that the medicines caused asthma in these children and further research is needed to better understand this link."
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Experts stress the research is at a very early stage and is not conclusive, advising expectant mothers to continue to take any medication they need under the guidance of their doctor or nurse.
Dr Samantha Walker, director of policy and research at Asthma UK, said: "We don't yet know if the heartburn medication itself is contributing to the development of asthma in children or if there is a common factor we haven't discovered yet that causes both heartburn in pregnant women and asthma in their children.
"The study points us towards something that needs further investigation, which is why we need to see more research carried out into the causes of asthma, a condition that affects 5.4 million people in the UK alone."
The study was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.