According to Gus Portokalos, the father of the bride in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, just about any ailment can be cured if you just put some Windex on it, and the root of any word stems from the Greek.

While not trying to contradict the patriarch of that fictional family (or the Hollywood scriptwriters), researchers have found that if the ailment in question is asthma, Windex – or any other cleaning spray – is not exactly what the doctor ordered.

The results of the recent study suggests the heavy use of household cleaning sprays could actually increase the risk of developing adult asthma by up to 50 percent.

In the study, researchers analyzed data from 3,500 people from ten European countries, assessing the participants for asthma and wheezing, then following up in interviews nine years later.

One of the main questions was how often they used cleaning sprays.

The results found the risk of developing asthma increased with frequency of cleaning and the number of sprays used; air fresheners, furniture cleaners and glass cleaners had a particularly strong effect.

“Frequent use of household cleaning sprays may be an important risk factor for adult asthma,” said Jan-Paul Zock, of the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology in Barcelona.

It is noted that Greece has one of the lowest rates of adult asthma in the European Union, along with France, Germany and Italy, while the U.K and Ireland have the highest rates – along with the highest death rate from respiratory diseases.

While Gus Portokalos’ Windex cure may not be for everyone, he is right about one thing:  the word asthma comes from the Greek word azein, meaning sharp breath.