Less immune activation following social stress in rural vs. urban participants raised with regular or no animal contact, respectively

Abstract

SignificanceOur results show that a standardized laboratory psychosocial stressor causes a greater inflammatory response in young healthy participants with an urban upbringing in the absence of pets, relative to young healthy participants with a rural upbringing in the presence of farm animals. In view of the known links between persistent inflammatory states and psychiatric disturbances, and considering that many stress-associated physical and mental disorders are more prevalent in environments offering a narrow range of microbial exposures, we feel that our findings are of general interest and significance. Moreover, we feel our study is timely, as urbanization and the associated socioeconomic consequences are increasing.

Building upon current knowledge and techniques of indoor microbiology to construct the next era of theory into microorganisms, health, and the built environment

“…Furthermore, while buildings can exacerbate pre-existing respiratory conditions, the role of the built environment in causing or preventing the development of respiratory conditions remains unclear. Recent research has shown that a diverse and abundant microbial community in house dust, which is often associated with rural farmhouses and homes with pets, is not deleterious to human health [205][206][207][208]. Longitudinal studies which point to the presence of pathobionts and antigens in the home during the first few years of life having a long-term protective effect against the development of adverse symptoms [201] lend support to the Old Friends hypothesis.…”

Clinical Ecology—Transforming 21st-Century Medicine with Planetary Health in Mind

“…The last decade has witnessed a marked increase in research supporting the mental and physical benefits of biodiversity and experience in natural environments (oft-referred to as green space) [74][75][76]. The interplay of potentially beneficial and detrimental experiences is central to biological buffering and the concept of resiliency; exposure to green space and elements of natural environments-including microbial-appear to play a role in psycho-biological resiliency over the life course [77][78][79].…”

The Effect of Digestion and Digestibility on Allergenicity of Food

“…Biomarker research indicates that stress also has an effect on immune reactions. For instance, the release of salivary α-amylase indicated that experimental stress was higher in rural participants raised in the presence of animals [ 24 ]. Acute or chronic stress may therefore quantitatively regulate amylase activity, and thereby impact on the composition of digested carbohydrates and subsequently affect microbiota composition (discussed below).…”