Protecting babies from highly allergenic foods and dust mites during their first year could prevent asthma during childhood, a new study suggests.

In a revolutionary study, led by Professor Hasan Arshad, a consultant in allergy at Southampton General Hospital, and published in the journal Thorax, researchers have discovered that a baby’s risk of asthma is decreased by more than half if their contact with triggers of allergy from birth to 12 months is monitored.

Prof Arshad, who is also director of the David Hide Asthma and Allergy Research Centre on the Isle of Wight, said, “Although genetic links are arguably the most significant risk factor for asthma in children, environmental factors are the other critical component.”

He notes that this study was small, however, it is significant because the result was over a 50 percent drop in the risk factor for asthma when control of a child’s environment was introduced.



Arshad and his colleagues analyzed 120 patients with a family history of allergy who were found to be at high risk of allergy at birth 23 years ago. Their aim was to explore whether mothers who breastfeed and their kids who followed an exact diet, in combination with the use of vinyl mattress covers and pesticides to eliminate dust mites, had a decreased risk of developing asthma.



The diet included:

soy

fish and nuts

eggs

dairy products

Follow-ups were carried out at ages two, three, four, eight and 18 and revealed that just 11 percent of those in the prevention cohort had developed asthma by 18, while 27 percent of those who were naturally exposed to substances associated with allergic reactions had asthma.

By combining environmental and dietary avoidance during the first year of life – the development of asthma can be prevented during the first years and throughout childhood up to age 18 years.

Professor Arshad, who is also chair in allergy and immunology at the University of Southampton and is based at the NIHR Southampton respiratory biomedical research unit, emphasized an immediate need to reproduce these findings in a larger study.



He concluded: