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Related Experiment Videos

The hygiene hypothesis and asthma.

Clare D Ramsey1, Juan C Celedón

  • 1Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.

Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine
|December 14, 2004
PubMed
Summary

The hygiene hypothesis suggests reduced childhood infections decrease allergies. Recent studies show mixed results for asthma, indicating infections alone don't explain the rise in allergic diseases.

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Area of Science:

  • Epidemiology
  • Immunology
  • Allergy Research

Background:

  • The hygiene hypothesis proposes reduced childhood infection exposure increases allergic disease prevalence in industrialized nations.
  • Asthma prevalence has risen significantly in industrialized countries, prompting investigation into environmental and infectious exposures.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review recent epidemiologic studies investigating the hygiene hypothesis and its association with asthma.
  • To evaluate the evidence linking various childhood exposures to asthma development.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic review of recent epidemiologic studies.
  • Analysis of associations between childhood exposures (e.g., social contact, infections, vaccinations, parasites, endotoxins, antibiotics) and asthma, allergen sensitization, or hay fever.

Main Results:

  • Consistent inverse association between early childhood exposure to other children and allergen sensitization/hay fever.
  • Conflicting evidence regarding the link between exposure to other children and asthma.
  • No support found for vaccination or early-life antibiotic use as factors influencing asthma development.
  • Inconsistent findings for gastrointestinal pathogens, helminthic parasites, and endotoxin exposure in relation to asthma.
  • Some studies show inverse associations between certain pathogens (Hepatitis A) and sensitization/asthma, while others do not.

Conclusions:

  • Findings regarding the hygiene hypothesis and asthma are inconsistent across various exposures.
  • The hygiene hypothesis alone is unlikely to account for the increasing rates of asthma in industrialized nations.

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