Would growing up on a farm protect children from allergies?

We know: the intestinal microbiota plays an important role in human health, particularly in the development of allergies. In a new study, published in the journal Plos Oneresearchers from the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) decided to determine whether living on a farm during the first years of life, i.e. critical stages in the development of the intestinal microbiota, could have an impact on the risk of allergies.

Fecal samples from 68 children were collected and analyzed

For the purposes of the work, they took fecal samples from 68 children during their early childhood, three days after their birth, and later, at the ages of 18 months, three years and eight years. Of these, 28 lived on a farm and 40 lived with domestic animals. “The composition of the gut microbiota was characterized using quantitative microbial culture of various typical anaerobic and facultative anaerobic bacteria, with the colonization rate and number of bacterial groups determined at the genus or species level” , can we read in the research. The allergy was diagnosed at ages three and eight by pediatricians. To carry out the study, the team compared samples of babies born to parents living on a farm with animals, children who did not grow up on a farm, and infants not exposed to farms with a pet.

Allergy: exposure to animals during childhood leads to differences in the gut microbiota

The results found that growing up on a farm was linked to a seven-fold higher ratio of anaerobic to facultative bacteria in the first week of life and lower Escherichia coli populations. in children colonized during the first months of life and less frequent colonization by Clostridioides difficile at 12 months of age. The presence of domestic animals in the household was associated with more frequent colonization by Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and Bacteroides during the first months of life.

The authors found that the differences in gut microbiota between the two groups faded as the children grew older, but those who lived on a farm as babies had much lower rates of allergies as they got older. 8 years old. “Further studies are needed to validate our observations in this small study,” the scientists concluded.