Asthma symptoms can worsen in children with depressed mothers, as per research from Johns Hopkins Children's Center published online in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology. Analyzing data from interviews with 262 mothers of African-American children with asthma - a population disproportionately affected by this inflammatory airway disorder - the Hopkins researchers observed that children whose mothers had more depressive symptoms had more frequent asthma symptoms during the six-months of the study. On the other hand, children whose mothers reported fewer depressive symptoms had less frequent asthma symptoms.