Paul Kedrosky: Go Give Your Kids Ulcers

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May 2, 2007

Go Give Your Kids Ulcers

There is a fascinating result in a newly published study in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The gist: Early exposure to Helicobacter pylori may reduce risks of asthma and allergy. While h. pylori is now known as the stomach bacterium that leads to many/most cases of peptic ulcers, this new result suggests that being exposed before the age of ten reduces the likelihood of childhood allergies and asthma, both of which are raging higher.

It is, of course, further fuel for the cleanliness hypothesis, which says that one of the primary causes of the current startling increase in allergies, asthma, and atopic dermatitis among children in developed countries is our cleanliness fetish. Our highly developed immune systems need something to do, and they find it -- even if it's ultimately harmful to the young host.

Results The presence of cagA+ H pylori strains was inversely related to ever having asthma (OR, 0.79; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.63-0.99), and the inverse association of cagA positivity with childhood-onset (age ≤15 years) asthma was stronger (OR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.43-0.93) than that with adult-onset asthma (OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.72-1.32). Colonization with H pylori, especially with a cagA+ strain, was inversely associated with currently (OR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.62-0.96) or ever (OR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.62-0.94) having a diagnosis of allergic rhinitis, especially for childhood onset (OR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.37-0.82). Consistent inverse associations were found between H pylori colonization and the presence of allergy symptoms in the previous year and sensitization to pollens and molds.

Conclusion These observations support the hypothesis that childhood acquisition of H pylori is associated with reduced risks of asthma and allergy.

Will we one day see class-action suits directed by allergy sufferers at manufacturers of antiseptic soaps and the like? One wonders.

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