Allergy, asthma less frequent in foreign-born kids in U.S.
Nathan Seppa, Science News
May 2, 2013
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/350112/description/Allergy_asthma_less_frequent_in_foreign-born_kids_in_US
Summary: Recent study and analysis have found that foreign-born
kids in the U.S. are less frequent to get allergy, asthma.
The hypothesis holds that kids who grow up with more exposure to
dirt, infections, and animals dander develop a stronger immune system; their do
not overreact to harmless natural substances like pollen. They are also less
likely to have hay fever or asthma, so do their parents. However, immigrates seem
to lose their advantages after they moved to the U.S. Some of their immune conditions weaken several years later. One factor generates this protection is
the lifestyle from the country of origin. Vitamin D may matter too, since
vitamin is involved in regulating immune system.
Connection: This
article relates to our unit on human immune system. It is an interesting
discovery on human immune system differences in worldwide. As a foreign-born
kid who moved to the U.S. two years ago, the hypothesis from the
article applies to me: I have never had any allergy in the
past. Yet, my parents are found to have some allergic symptoms
starting this spring. I hope my immune system will keep its old senses later on.
If there were kids who grew up in a part of the U.S. with lots of exposure to dirt/infections just like some foreign-born kids, would they also have this resistance?
ReplyDeleteIs this resistance true for all foreign born children, or only for kids who are born in countries that are not as clean as the US?
ReplyDeleteReply to Carol's question:
ReplyDeleteAccording to a study on 79,667 U.S. children, the U.S.-born children have a 34.5 percent chance of developing asthma, hay fever, eczema, and food allergies, compared with just 20.3 percent of foreign-born children. As far as I know, most of the kids in New England have some kinds of allergies because of the clean environment and the good air conditions, but there are still a fair amount of U.S. children who have the resistance for allergies. So I believe that U.S.-born children who live in area which in less cleaner would be more likely to have the resistance.
Reply to Ivy's question:
ReplyDeleteAccording to a study on 79,667 U.S. children, the U.S.-born children have a 34.5 percent chance of developing asthma, hay fever, eczema, and food allergies, compared with just 20.3 percent of foreign-born children. My answer to your question is that not all the foreign-born children have the resistance for allergies. But kids who are born in in countries that are not as clean as the U.S. are more likely to have the resistance since they have been more exposed to dirt, infections and animals dander.