Having lived on a farm and protection against allergic diseases in Australia

Downs, Sara H.; Marks, Guy B.; Mitakakis, Teresa; Leüppi, Jörg D.; Car, Nicholas; Peat, Jennifer K.

doi:10.1046/j.1365-2222.2001.01070.x

Cited by 141 publications

(121 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…A high T-helper-1-cell immune activity may result in a lower probability of immunoglobulin E activation, the presence of which determines the development of atopic sensitization and diseases. This mechanism was suggested as a reason for possible protective effects experienced by children who grow up on farms as described by Von Ehrenstein, et al [26], Downs et al [27], and Pekkanen et al [28].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Microbial Air Contamination in Farmhouses – Quantitative Aspects

Lis¹,

Mainelis

Górny

2008

CLEAN Soil Air Water

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The aim of this study was to characterize the microbial contamination of the air in farmhouses (defined as residential buildings on farms) on the basis of volumetric (using a six-stage Andersen impactor) measurements of bacterial and fungal aerosols. The microbial air quality (including both the total concentration of bioaerosols and their respirable fractions) in farmhouses was collated with the bacterial and fungal air contamination in urban dwellings. In comparison with the urban dwellings, the air in the farmhouses was characterized by significantly higher concentrations of culturable bacteria and fungi. However, respirable microorganisms in the farmhouses constituted the smaller fraction of all culturable bacteria and fungi. The results indicate that the microbial air quality in the farmhouses was most likely affected by the presence of farm buildings, which acted as additional bioaerosol emission sources. The smaller respirable bioaerosol fraction observed in the farmhouses could be explained by the indirect transfer of bacteria and fungi on workers' clothing and bodies from farm buildings to the habitable environments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Microbial Air Contamination in Farmhouses – Quantitative Aspects

Lis¹,

Mainelis

Górny

2008

CLEAN Soil Air Water

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“…Downs and colleagues investigated asthma and atopy among children 7 to 12 years of age from two farming regions in Australia. 12 No protective effect of farming was observed among children living in a primarily crop farming region. However, the prevalence of asthma and atopy was reduced among farm children living in a region with both livestock and crop farming compared to their non-farm peers from the same region.…”

Section: Asthma and Atopy In Farming Populationsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Several recent studies from Europe, Canada, and Australia have suggested that agricultural exposures may protect children from developing asthma and atopy. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] However, these findings are not all consistent, and research has not yet identified the underlying mechanisms of this association. Further, this suggested protection in children contrasts with a host of studies from the occupational literature that suggest adult farmers are at increased risk of respiratory disease.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Asthma and Atopy in Rural Children: Is Farming Protective?

Naleway¹

2004

Clinical Medicine & Research

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The prevalence of asthma and other atopic diseases has recently increased, especially in urban and modernized regions of the world. The majority of published prevalence surveys report that asthma and atopy are less common among children living in rural areas. While many exposures differ in rural and urban areas of the world, several recent studies have suggested that agricultural exposures in early childhood may decrease the risk of developing atopic disease. Livestock exposure, in particular, seems to be important, but additional research is needed to pinpoint the underlying mechanisms behind this apparent protective effect of rural and farm living. Additionally, prospective studies are needed to more closely examine the timing of farm exposures in relation to the onset of asthma and atopy, and to determine if the apparent protective effects of farming persist into adulthood.

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“…The observed protective effects of farming on allergies and asthma have been particularly strong for animal contact [5,10,11,13,15,20]. Farm animals are associated with high exposures to microorganisms, in particular bacterial endotoxin [45].…”

Section: Protective Exposuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A related issue is that a number of studies have found consistently low prevalences of allergies and asthma in farmers' children, both in high-income countries such as Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Europe [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], and in lowincome countries including Mongolia and Southern Africa [21,22]. These protective effects for allergies and asthma have also been observed in adult farmers [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36], despite the increased risks of other respiratory conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, reduced lung function and farmers' lung [37].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%