Infants born during COVID-19 pandemic experience increased susceptibility to airway hyperresponsiveness

BackgroundAsthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, and food allergy are type 2 inflammation diseases. Since the 1960s, the prevalence of those diseases has steadily increased, presumably due to the “Hygiene hypothesis” which suggests that early exposure of infants to pathogens, siblings, and en...

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Main Authors: Idit Lachover-Roth, Anat Cohen-Engler, Yael Furman, Yossi Rosman, Keren Meir-Shafrir, Michal Mozer-Mandel, Sivan Farladansky-Gershnabel, Tal Biron-Shental, Ronit Confino-Cohen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2024-12-01
Series:Frontiers in Allergy
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/falgy.2024.1512182/full
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author Idit Lachover-Roth
Idit Lachover-Roth
Anat Cohen-Engler
Yael Furman
Yael Furman
Yossi Rosman
Yossi Rosman
Keren Meir-Shafrir
Michal Mozer-Mandel
Sivan Farladansky-Gershnabel
Sivan Farladansky-Gershnabel
Tal Biron-Shental
Tal Biron-Shental
Ronit Confino-Cohen
Ronit Confino-Cohen
author_facet Idit Lachover-Roth
Idit Lachover-Roth
Anat Cohen-Engler
Yael Furman
Yael Furman
Yossi Rosman
Yossi Rosman
Keren Meir-Shafrir
Michal Mozer-Mandel
Sivan Farladansky-Gershnabel
Sivan Farladansky-Gershnabel
Tal Biron-Shental
Tal Biron-Shental
Ronit Confino-Cohen
Ronit Confino-Cohen
author_sort Idit Lachover-Roth
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundAsthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, and food allergy are type 2 inflammation diseases. Since the 1960s, the prevalence of those diseases has steadily increased, presumably due to the “Hygiene hypothesis” which suggests that early exposure of infants to pathogens, siblings, and environmental dust, has a protective effect against the development of allergic diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic increased environmental hygiene due to lockdowns, masks, and social distancing.ObjectiveTo compare the prevalence of allergic diseases among children born before and during the pandemic.MethodsThe Cow's Milk Early Exposure Trial prospectively followed newborns until 12-months of age using monthly survey and examined milk allergy development. Some were born before the first COVID-19 lockdown in Israel (April 2018–March 2020), and some were born during the pandemic (March 2020–May 2021). The monthly surveys included questions regarding atopic comorbidities.ResultsA total of 1,989 infants completed 12-months of follow-up. Among them, 1,086(54.5%) were diagnosed with at least one atopic disease. Among 235 infants born after the last lockdown, 162 were diagnosed with airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR)(68.9%), significantly more than in any other group. No other significant differences were found between the study groups.ConclusionsThere was no significant difference in the development of atopic comorbidities between infants born before and during the pandemic. Significantly more infants who were born after restrictions were eased were diagnosed AHR. A longer follow-up period is needed to obtain a better understanding of the influence of the COVID-19 restrictions on the development of atopic comorbidities. Clinical Trial RegistryNIH Clinical Trials Registry: NCT02785679.
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publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
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spelling doaj-art-49210d50cf034f728a9593b668296e2e2025-08-20T01:56:25ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Allergy2673-61012024-12-01510.3389/falgy.2024.15121821512182Infants born during COVID-19 pandemic experience increased susceptibility to airway hyperresponsivenessIdit Lachover-Roth0Idit Lachover-Roth1Anat Cohen-Engler2Yael Furman3Yael Furman4Yossi Rosman5Yossi Rosman6Keren Meir-Shafrir7Michal Mozer-Mandel8Sivan Farladansky-Gershnabel9Sivan Farladansky-Gershnabel10Tal Biron-Shental11Tal Biron-Shental12Ronit Confino-Cohen13Ronit Confino-Cohen14Allergy and Clinical Immunology Unit, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba, IsraelFaculty of Medical and Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, IsraelAllergy and Clinical Immunology Unit, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba, IsraelFaculty of Medical and Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, IsraelDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba, IsraelAllergy and Clinical Immunology Unit, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba, IsraelFaculty of Medical and Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, IsraelAllergy and Clinical Immunology Unit, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba, IsraelDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba, IsraelFaculty of Medical and Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, IsraelDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba, IsraelFaculty of Medical and Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, IsraelDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba, IsraelAllergy and Clinical Immunology Unit, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba, IsraelFaculty of Medical and Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, IsraelBackgroundAsthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, and food allergy are type 2 inflammation diseases. Since the 1960s, the prevalence of those diseases has steadily increased, presumably due to the “Hygiene hypothesis” which suggests that early exposure of infants to pathogens, siblings, and environmental dust, has a protective effect against the development of allergic diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic increased environmental hygiene due to lockdowns, masks, and social distancing.ObjectiveTo compare the prevalence of allergic diseases among children born before and during the pandemic.MethodsThe Cow's Milk Early Exposure Trial prospectively followed newborns until 12-months of age using monthly survey and examined milk allergy development. Some were born before the first COVID-19 lockdown in Israel (April 2018–March 2020), and some were born during the pandemic (March 2020–May 2021). The monthly surveys included questions regarding atopic comorbidities.ResultsA total of 1,989 infants completed 12-months of follow-up. Among them, 1,086(54.5%) were diagnosed with at least one atopic disease. Among 235 infants born after the last lockdown, 162 were diagnosed with airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR)(68.9%), significantly more than in any other group. No other significant differences were found between the study groups.ConclusionsThere was no significant difference in the development of atopic comorbidities between infants born before and during the pandemic. Significantly more infants who were born after restrictions were eased were diagnosed AHR. A longer follow-up period is needed to obtain a better understanding of the influence of the COVID-19 restrictions on the development of atopic comorbidities. Clinical Trial RegistryNIH Clinical Trials Registry: NCT02785679.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/falgy.2024.1512182/fullallergyatopic comorbiditiesCOVID-19hygiene hypothesisairway hyper responsiveness
spellingShingle Idit Lachover-Roth
Idit Lachover-Roth
Anat Cohen-Engler
Yael Furman
Yael Furman
Yossi Rosman
Yossi Rosman
Keren Meir-Shafrir
Michal Mozer-Mandel
Sivan Farladansky-Gershnabel
Sivan Farladansky-Gershnabel
Tal Biron-Shental
Tal Biron-Shental
Ronit Confino-Cohen
Ronit Confino-Cohen
Infants born during COVID-19 pandemic experience increased susceptibility to airway hyperresponsiveness
Frontiers in Allergy
allergy
atopic comorbidities
COVID-19
hygiene hypothesis
airway hyper responsiveness
title Infants born during COVID-19 pandemic experience increased susceptibility to airway hyperresponsiveness
title_full Infants born during COVID-19 pandemic experience increased susceptibility to airway hyperresponsiveness
title_fullStr Infants born during COVID-19 pandemic experience increased susceptibility to airway hyperresponsiveness
title_full_unstemmed Infants born during COVID-19 pandemic experience increased susceptibility to airway hyperresponsiveness
title_short Infants born during COVID-19 pandemic experience increased susceptibility to airway hyperresponsiveness
title_sort infants born during covid 19 pandemic experience increased susceptibility to airway hyperresponsiveness
topic allergy
atopic comorbidities
COVID-19
hygiene hypothesis
airway hyper responsiveness
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/falgy.2024.1512182/full
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