SLEEPING ON ANIMAL FUR IN INFANCY FOUND TO REDUCE RISK OF ASTHMA
Sleeping on animal fur
in the first three months of life might reduce the risk of asthma in later
childhood a new study has found.
The new research,
presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress in
Munich, suggests that exposure to the microbial environment in animal skin and
fur could have a protective effect against asthma and allergies.
Previous studies
have suggested that exposure to a wider range of environments from a young age
could be protective against asthma and allergies. These findings have not been
confirmed conclusively in urban settings. In this new study, researchers
investigated children from a city environment who had been exposed to animal
skin by sleeping on the material shortly after birth.
Data from a German
birth cohort called Lisaplus were used. The cohort included over 3,000 healthy
newborns who were mainly recruited in 1998.
The researchers
collected information on exposure to animal skin during the first three months
of life, along with information on the health of children until the age of 10
years. Information on 2,441 children was used in the study, with 55% of those
included sleeping on animal skin in the first three months of life.
The results showed
that sleeping on animal skin was associated with a reduced risk of a number of
factors connected to asthma. The chance of having asthma at the age of 6 years
was 79% lower in children who had slept on animal skin after birth compared
with those who were not exposed to animal skin. The risk decreased to 41% by
the age of 10.
Dr Christina
Tischer, from the Helmholtz Zentrum München Research Centre, said:
"Previous studies have suggested that microbes found in rural settings can
protect from asthma. An animal skin might also be a reservoir for various kinds
of microbes, following similar mechanisms as has been observed in rural
environments. Our findings have confirmed that it is crucial to study further
the actual microbial environment within the animal fur to confirm these
associations."
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