A Green Living Environment Does Not Protect Children Against Eczema
Around 20-30% of children experience atopic eczema, which commonly appears in early childhood and is often linked to food allergies. It is also associated with the development of asthma and allergic rhinitis later in life.
A recent study from Finland has found that the environmental conditions of the home during early childhood do not appear to offer protection against atopic eczema, which is different from what researchers had previously hypothesized.
There has been a long-standing belief among medical professionals that urbanization and decreased biodiversity lead to an increased risk of allergic diseases, but this study’s results suggest otherwise. Atopic eczema is a condition that affects 20-30% of children and is often associated with food allergies, asthma, and allergic rhinitis later in life.
Contrary to their hypothesis, the Finnish study found that certain environmental conditions, which were previously believed to be beneficial in protecting against allergic diseases, may not be suitable for those at risk of developing skin conditions such as atopic eczema. The study revealed that being in close proximity to coniferous, mixed forests and agricultural areas was linked to an increased risk of developing eczema, particularly in children born during the spring season.
More Results
In addition, the study examined other allergic diseases besides eczema, as it is typically the first to appear. The researchers collected data from six different Finnish birth cohorts, which involved a total of 5,085 children. The children were followed from birth, allowing the researchers to analyze the links between early-life environmental exposures and the development of allergic diseases.
me during early life, and the development of eczema by age two. Allergic diseases are a widespread chronic condition in children and have a considerable public health and economic impact. Dr. Minna Lukkarinen, a pediatric specialist from the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study at the University of Turku, Finland, states that the results emphasize the significance of finding preventive measures.
Lukkarinen comments: “Although greenness around the home did not protect against eczema, surrounding vegetation can have other beneficial effects. We also must note that greenness is a rather rough measure of natural presence and a relatively poor indicator of biodiversity.”
Explaining the issue of the surrounding trees, Lukkarinen adds: “The observed predisposing association of coniferous forest may indicate that the effects of nature on a child’s immunological development vary depending on the type of nature and the biodiversity and the exact timing of the exposures.”
The research has been published in the journal Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, titled “Early-life environment and the risk of eczema at 2 years—Meta-analyses of six Finnish birth cohorts”.
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