AAAAI: Early-Life Day Care Attendance May Lower Risk for Asthma, Allergies

WEDNESDAY, March 6, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Early-life day care attendance may be protective against allergen sensitization, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, held from Feb. 23 to 26 in Washington, D.C.

Jonathan Witonsky, M.D., from the University of California in San Francisco, and colleagues examined the association between early-life day care exposure and allergy sensitization. The analysis included 435 children (born at >36 weeks of gestation) participating in the Puerto Rican Infant Metagenomic and Epidemiologic Study of Respiratory Outcomes (PRIMERO) and followed for two years (96 attending day care).

The researchers found that total immunoglobulin E levels were, on average, 142 UI/mL lower among children who attended day care versus those who did not. Children in day care had lower odds of perennial aeroallergen sensitization versus those who were not in day care (odds ratio, 0.57, before and after adjustment).

"Puerto Rican children bear a disproportionate burden of asthma and allergies, compounded by an overrepresentation of the socioeconomic and environmental determinants associated with these conditions," Witonsky said in a statement. "Findings from the PRIMERO birth cohort offer crucial insights into the impact of early-life exposures, including day care attendance, on the development of childhood asthma and allergic diseases."

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