Infant Daycare May Lower Asthma Risk

If your child is in day care by the age of 3 months and you suffer from asthma, you may be protecting your child from developing asthma.

Researchers from the University of Arizona discovered that day care attendance equals lower levels of immunoglobulin E (IgE), which causes allergies and asthma to emerge in children.

Children who attend day care as infants, had their IgE levels at their lowest for the first three years of their lives.

Since the study's discoveries were uncovered, the hygiene hypothesis has become more credible; if an infant is exposed to germs from various environments, they will be well protected from allergies and asthma. In fact, the study suggested that children exposed to different environments were more likely to have a better immune response than children who were exposed to other children at an early age.

Researchers found that children who entered day care later in infancy were not protected from getting asthma.

Placing children in day care at an early age is well supported by the study, but others like Allergist David Tanner, MD, of the Atlanta Allergy & Asthma Clinic, encourages parents not to place high-risk children in day care, because of the risk of exposure to viral infections.

Summarized by: Stephanie Sandoval
Source: Boyles, Salynn. 2007. Early Day Care May Lower Asthma Risk. http://www.webmd.com
(accessed November 12, 2007).