>>One can't help but wonder who funded this kind of research (i.e. was it
biased?)...but my only thought with this was...if it were indeed true,
is it perhaps because more of us put household needs aside in lieu of
the (more important) baby's needs, thus not doing vacuuming, dusting
etc. if the baby is "needy"?<<

That can't be it either because they're now saying dusty homes and farm
living probably lowers the risk of asthma and allergies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/19/health/19ASTH.html

>>Environment Rich in Germs May Lower the Risk of Asthma

By DENISE GRADY


hildren from extremely clean homes may be more likely to develop asthma and
hay fever than those who grow up on farms or in families that allow a bit of
dirt in the house, researchers are reporting.

Dirt and manure may be beneficial because they are swarming with bacteria,
which can help an infant's immune system to mature and develop tolerance —
instead of allergies — to environmental substances like pollen and animal
dander.

The new findings, published today in The New England Journal of Medicine,
add to a growing collection of evidence for the "hygiene hypothesis." This
theory suggests that 20th century advances like indoor plumbing, antibiotics
and cleaner homes may have contributed to recent increases in allergy,
asthma and eczema by decreasing rates of childhood infection. Some
infections early in life, the argument goes, help the immune system develop
properly.

The new study, led by Dr. Charlotte Braun-Fahrländer of the Institute of
Social and Preventive Medicine in Basel, Switzerland, found that farm
children were less prone to allergies and asthma than nonfarm children. It
also found that the more the children were exposed to a certain bacterial
component, the less likely they were to have allergies.

Earlier studies also supported the hygiene hypothesis, suggesting that
children who grow up with pets or in large families, or who attend day
care — all rich sources of germs — are less likely to develop asthma.

But the studies do not mean that people should buy pets, abandon
housecleaning, frequent farms or send their children to day care just to
prevent allergies. Researchers say they still do not understand allergies
and asthma well enough to make such recommendations. More than 25 genes may
play a role, and some families have such a strong genetic tendency to
allergies that, as one researcher said, not even living in a barn would
protect them. For children who already have allergies, exposure to animals
or dust can make things worse.

"It's not so simple that you can isolate one thing and say `If you're
exposed to this, it's good, if you're exposed to that, it's bad,' " said Dr.
Scott T. Weiss, a professor at Harvard Medical School who wrote an editorial
accompanying the new study. "It's way too complicated."

About 17 million Americans have asthma, according to the American Academy of
Allergy Asthma and Immunology. In 1999, 4,657 people died of it. From 1980
to 1994, the prevalence of asthma rose by 75 percent, and scientists do not
know why. Improved detection and diagnosis cannot account for all of the
increase.

The new study included 319 children from farms and 493 from nonfarming
homes, all 6 to 13 years old and all from rural parts of Austria, Germany
and Switzerland. Among the farm children, 4.1 percent had hay fever and 3.1
percent had allergy-related asthma. The rates were higher among the children
not on farms: 10.5 percent had hay fever and 5.9 percent had allergic
asthma. Other measures of allergy were also higher in the nonfarm children.

The researchers also measured the levels of a substance called endotoxin in
dust from the children's mattresses. Endotoxin is a component of many types
of bacteria, and levels tend to be high on farms. In the study, farms did
have higher endotoxin levels than nonfarm homes, and the scientists found
that in mattresses, the highest levels of endotoxin were associated with the
lowest risk of asthma and allergy.

For instance, children whose mattresses had the lowest endotoxin levels had
the highest hay fever rates, about 15 percent, while those with the most
endotoxin in their mattresses had the lowest hay fever rates, about 2 or 3
percent.

The study showed only correlations between endotoxin levels and allergy; it
did not prove cause and effect. Other compounds made by bacteria could be
involved as well.

The research may eventually lead to new treatments to be given early in
life, perhaps as vaccinations, to prevent asthma and allergies. But
endotoxin itself would probably not work as a treatment, said Dr. Donald
Leung, head of the pediatric allergy and immunology division of the National
Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver.

"If you give too much endotoxin, you get sick," Dr. Leung said. "Endotoxin
is what causes people to go into septic shock. And at high concentrations,
it can cause lung disease."

But researchers are looking for other substances that can help the immune
system develop properly.

Dr. Weiss said: "We've made a lot of progress. The field is rapidly
advancing, and in the next few years there may be specific recommendations
or vaccinations."<<

Pat W

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