Children who spend more time in nurseries have a greater risk of developing eczema than their peers who spend the first months after giving birth at home.
Many studies in Germany have reported that eczema is more common among children in the East German Länder compared to the West German part. Dr. Claudia Cramer from the IUF-Institut fur Umweltmedizinische Forschung in Dusseldorf, Germany, collected research showing that children from eastern Germany are more likely to stay longer in nurseries. Dr. Cramer and her colleagues checked whether a stay in a nursery before the age of 2 increases the risk of eczema in children.
Research workers studied 3097 children up to the age of 6. 13% of East German children had eczema before the age of 4, compared with 8% of West German children. 55% of East German children attended full day care for the first two years of life, compared with 6% of West German children.
Nursery attendance was the main factor linking the incidence of eczema, the results of the study were published on Aug. 17 in the journal Allergy. Children attending nurseries were 56% more likely to suffer from skin problems than their peers who did not attend nurseries before the age of 2. This relationship was not so strong in older children.
The differences in neonatal care explain the dependencies in regions with higher eczema rates, said Dr Cramer.
The research did not investigate the causes of allergies. The researchers point out, however, that in nurseries, children may be exposed to greater contact with various allergens and microorganisms, while at home there are fewer of these factors. Moreover, children staying in nurseries may be more stressed than those who spend their first days at home.
Future research will look at how nursery duration or different types of care outside the home affect children’s immune systems and stress levels.
Reuters Health, 06.09.2010