Sharing a home with a pet has many benefits for children and not only on an emotional and psychological level, since there is scientific evidence that associates contact with certain animals with a lower risk of children developing some type of allergy. For example, a study published last year in PLOS One found that living with dogs or cats reduced the chances of children developing a food allergy.
Now, a new study by researchers linked to the University of Gothenburg in which data from 65 children from birth to 18 months of age have been analyzed, of which 28 (43%) lived on dairy farms and 40 (the 62%) had pets at home, has found a greater abundance of beneficial bacteria in their intestinal microbiota that was related to a lower risk of developing allergies when children were three and eight years old. The findings have been published in PLOS One.
A healthy microbiota is associated with a lower risk of allergies in children
The researchers analyzed fecal samples from these children and performed microbial culture to determine the composition of the intestinal microbiota, including data such as colonization rates of various bacteria and population counts of bacterial groups. They also took into account factors that could influence the results such as type of diet and family environment.
In this way they were able to verify that children who had been raised in environments with dairy farms had a higher proportion of anaerobic bacteria in the first week and, on the contrary, had a lower proportion of the Escherichia coli bacteria in the first months of life and less frequent colonization of Clostridioides difficile at 12 months of age, which are pathogens responsible for serious infections.
Living with pets was associated with a greater presence of beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and Bacteroides during the first months of life. In addition, certain characteristics of the intestinal microbiota, such as a greater balance of anaerobic bacteria in the first week of life, the early presence of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and Bacteroides, and a lower colonization by C. difficile between 4 and 12 months, were related with less risk of developing allergies later.
“Exposure to certain microorganisms during the first months of life could be key to protecting us against allergies, which opens the door to the development of preventive treatments”
The study authors suggest that the lower incidence of allergies in children who grow up on farms or with pets could be due to the early development of a gut microbiota rich in beneficial anaerobic bacteria. However, due to the small size of the group studied, they acknowledge that more research is needed to confirm these findings.
In statements to Science Media Center Spain, Sara Benedé Pérez, Professor of Immunoallergy at the Complutense University of Madrid, explained that “some studies show an altered profile of the intestinal microbiota in individuals with allergies, so the modulation of this profile is a Today a prevention and treatment strategy is in the study phase. To do this, it is essential to know exactly which microorganisms exert a protective or harmful effect against the development of allergy.”
“I find this study very interesting because it not only identifies a series of microorganisms that positively or negatively influence the development of allergies, but it goes a step further and also highlights the importance of the moment in our lives in which these microorganisms are establish in our intestine,” he adds.
“According to this work, exposure to certain microorganisms during the first months of life could be key to protecting us against allergies, which opens the door to the development of preventive treatments, for example, in the case of children with a family history of allergies. and therefore they could be more susceptible to the development of this disease,” concludes the expert.
