Children's exposure to farm animals reduces allergies

Their Immunity Was Stronger Than Others

A Swedish team of pediatricians and infectious disease specialists found a lower incidence of allergies in infants born to parents who live on farms and are exposed to animals during their early years of development.

In their paper, the researchers hypothesized that exposure to farm animals as infants leads to differences in gut bacteria, which in turn leads to a lower likelihood of developing allergies later on.

The effect of farms on children

According to "Medical Express", the study was conducted at the University of Gothenburg with colleagues from Skåraborg Hospital, and the research team collected stool samples from 65 children during their childhood at the ages of 3 days, 18 months, 3 years, and then 8 years.

The researchers compared the samples between children born to parents who lived on a farm and children who did not grow up on a farm.

It turned out that children who lived on a farm had 7 times more anaerobes than children who did not live on a farm, whether they had a pet or not.

Lower rates of allergies

Anaerobes are a more diverse type of microbiome, outcompeting facultative bacteria, and are a sign of a mature gut microbiome.

The research also found that the differences in gut microbiomes between the two groups narrowed as the children got older, but those who lived on a farm as babies had significantly lower rates of allergies at age 8.