Stress During Childhood Increases The Risk Of Allergies

Moving house or the separation of parents can significantly increase the risk of children developing allergies later on.

Stress events during childhood are increasingly suspected of playing a role in the later development of asthma, allergic skin disorders, or allergic sensitizations.

Dramatic life events like the death of a family member or serious illnesses of a family member are suspected of increasing the risk of allergies for the children affected.

These are the results from a long-term study correlating life-style, immune system development and allergies, led by the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Leipzig (UFZ), the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen and the “Institut für Umweltmedizinische Forschung” (IUF) in Duesseldorf.

The researchers had examined blood samples taken from 234 six-year old children and discovered increased blood concentrations of the stress-related peptide VIP (vasoactive intestinal polypeptide) in connection with moving house or the separation of parents.

The neuropeptide VIP could take on a mediator role between stress events in life and the regulation of immune responses, researchers write in the scientific journal Pediatric Allergy and Immunology.

The fact that stress events can have an influence on the development of allergies has been known for a while.

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