Biodiversity for resilience—What is needed for allergic children

Abstract

What is needed for our children facing unprecedented challenges of modern time? Biodiversity, both for immunological and psychological well‐being and resilience. That is also the keyword for the children with allergies and asthma. The cultural evolution with advanced technology and medicine along with major move to urban environment has profoundly changed our lifestyle and surroundings. We are increasingly disconnected from our evolutionary home, soil, natural waters, and air we used to breathe. The ecosystem of human body and mind has been tested, survived, and evolved closely in relation with other ecosystems. For balance and tolerance, immune regulatory circuits need training by microbes, biogenic chemicals, and close relation to natural environment throughout life. This is addressed by the biodiversity hypothesis of tolerance/resilience for health, supported by the pioneering real‐world interventions and a few controlled studies. No need to go “back to nature,” but we must take natural elements back to our everyday life to breathe, eat, drink, and touch. The change for better is plausible and cost‐effective, as shown by the Finnish and other European initiatives, but needs contribution of the whole society.

Composition of Culturable Microorganisms in Dusts Collected from Sport Facilities in Finland during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…During the first half of the 20th century, outdoor exercises were the main thrust of health-promoting activities, and outdoor air was considered to be healthy and therapeutic [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. However, during the latter half of the 20th century, outdoor air pollution caused by vehicle traffic became difficult to avoid in urban environments.…”

“…Nowadays, there are over 10,000 public and private commercial sport facilities, including sport halls, fitness centers and gyms, in Finland [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. However, after the millennium shift, high hygiene levels and deprivation of exposure to diverse environmental microbiota in outdoor air have been associated with immune-mediated diseases [ 4 ]. Outdoor air in green environments has once again been indicated for maintaining health [ 3 , 4 ].…”

“…However, after the millennium shift, high hygiene levels and deprivation of exposure to diverse environmental microbiota in outdoor air have been associated with immune-mediated diseases [ 4 ]. Outdoor air in green environments has once again been indicated for maintaining health [ 3 , 4 ].…”

“…As in most urban buildings, in sport facilities, mechanical ventilation provides indoor closed spaces with filtered inlet air. Filtering not only removes hazardous outdoor air pollutants, but may also reduce the beneficial components of outdoor air [ 4 ]. Specific indoor air quality (IAQ) problems identified in sport facilities are the accumulation of pollutants due to poor ventilation, exposure to high amounts of biocides associated with cleaning chemicals, emissions from plastic and rubber building materials, and contagious bacteria and pathogenic fungi [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ].…”

Editorial to the special issue “Environmental influences on childhood asthma”

“…In the virtual issue of the journal, Tari Haahtela 8 has focused on the effect of biodiversity. Evidence supports that the immunomodulating roles of different micro‐organisms may be protective for asthma and allergic diseases.…”