Children born during the Covid Pandemic have exhibited fewer asthma-like symptoms compared to children born before pandemic. This shows a study at Umeå University.
“The results indicate that the restrictions during the pandemic have had advantages for the protection of the smallest,” says Fanny Kelderer, PhD student at Umeå University and author of the study.
Fewer respiratory infections and fewer antibiotic treatments, it seems to be the reality for children born during the pandemic.
– Being exposed to infection trains up the immune system, but it is possible that is just the best. The results indicate that the restrictions during the pandemic have had advantages for the protection of the smallest, says Fanny Kelderer, PhD student at Umeå University and author of the study, in a press release.
According to the study’s writers, it is still too early to comment on how the children’s defense against asthma stands in the long run. What one can see, on the other hand, is that the pandemic children at the age of nine months showed fewer asthma -like symptoms such as bearing and wheezing.
Fewer antibiotic cures have had protective effects
The pandemic period of infection prevention measures may have limited children’s exposure to infections with both viruses and bacteria. Airway infections early in life can trigger the immune system and increase the risk of asthma later in life. Early antibiotic treatment has also been linked to an increased risk of asthma in previous research.
The reduced antibiotic use during the pandemic may therefore have had a protective effect for the children, the researchers believe.
Increased risk of other illnesses
More than 3,300 families were included in the study, which is part of the research project Northpop at Umeå University and Region Västerbotten. The children in the study were followed to one and a half years and the parents have been able to respond to repeated surveys about colds and symptoms of allergy and asthma in the child.
Although the children seem to be at a lesser risk of suffering from asthma, pandemic restrictions may have led to an increased risk of other diseases.
“The restrictions during the pandemic, on the other hand, may have increased the risk of other allergic diseases such as eczema and food allergies where early exposure to infectious agents is proposed to provide some protection,” says Professor Christina West, responsible for asthma and allergy research within Northpop.