CHICAGO (AP) - Children susceptible to asthma face more than double the risk of developing the disease by ages 6 to 8 if their parents had trouble caring for them in early infancy, a study shows.

In the study, 150 children at risk for the disease because one or both parents had asthma were followed from infancy into childhood. Children whose parents had parenting difficulties when the youngsters were 3 weeks old were compared with those whose parents coped well.

The authors, led by psychologist Mary Klinnert of National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, reported in October's Pediatrics that 40 children had developed asthma. The issue of Pediatrics comes out Monday.

The authors earlier reported similar findings when the children were 3 years old, finding that 33 had developed asthma.

While environmental factors such as pollens and pet dander are more typically thought of as triggers, emotional stress also has been linked to asthma.

The authors theorized that poorly coping parents could cause emotional stress to the infant, impairing the disease-fighting immune system.

Parenting difficulties were described as an inability to offer proper emotional care to children, due to inadequate support from a spouse, depression or other problems.

Asthma affects more than 17 million Americans, causing spells of breathing difficulties and wheezing.

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