Shared Source Discovered for Major Childhood Allergies: Eczema, Asthma, Food Allergy, and Hay Fever

Fresh research indicates that prevalent childhood allergies might originate from the microbiome of the gut. In a pioneering study simultaneously exploring multiple pediatric allergies, a distinctive bacterial pattern within the gut has been pinpointed, linking it to the emergence of eczema, asthma, food allergies, and hay fever. This discovery holds the potential to usher in treatments that reinstate a balanced microbiota, conceivably forestalling the onset of allergies.

The investigation establishes a connection between significant childhood allergies and the gut’s bacterial composition, spotlighting a particular bacterial signature associated with allergy progression. Aspects such as early-life antibiotic usage and breastfeeding exert influence on this equilibrium, proffering insights into conceivable treatments for allergy prevention.

Several widely prevalent childhood allergies might all trace back to the complex community of bacteria thriving in the gastrointestinal tract. This assertion stems from a recent study led by researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and BC Children’s Hospital. The research, disclosed in Nature Communications on August 29, underscores distinctive attributes of the gut microbiome and early-life factors linked to the development of four common allergies in children: eczema, asthma, food allergy, and hay fever. The potential outcome of this finding is the ability to forecast a child’s susceptibility to allergies and the means to avert their occurrence altogether.

Pressing Need for Research Amidst Emergency Cases

Dr. Stuart Turvey, a professor in the department of pediatrics at UBC and an investigator at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, and a co-senior author of the study, notes, “We’re seeing more and more children and families seeking help at the emergency department due to allergies.” Driven by a desire to comprehend the underlying causes of this phenomenon and its prevention, the study emerges in light of the fact that hundreds of millions of children globally grapple with allergies, including one in three children in Canada.

Diverse Allergies Unveil a Common Thread

Examining four distinct allergies in school-aged children concurrently, the study remains among the first to do so. Despite the distinctive symptomatology characterizing each allergy, the researchers hypothesized a potential shared origin rooted in the microbial composition of infants’ guts. Dr. Charisse Petersen, co-senior author and postdoctoral fellow in the Turvey lab, underscores, “But when you look at what is going wrong at a cellular level, they actually have a lot in common.”

Key Findings of the Study

The research scrutinized clinical assessments of 1,115 children, tracked from birth to five years of age. About half of these children displayed no allergy indications, while more than half were diagnosed with one or more allergic conditions by expert physicians. The researchers examined the children’s microbiomes through stool samples collected at clinical visits at three months and one year of age.

The stool samples revealed a distinctive bacterial signature associated with the development of any of the four allergies by the age of five. This bacterial pattern marks dysbiosis, an imbalance in gut microbiota that is likely responsible for a compromised intestinal lining and heightened inflammatory responses within the gut.

Courtney Hoskinson, a PhD candidate at UBC and the paper’s first author, explains, “We found a common breakdown in these mechanisms in babies prior to the development of allergies.” She further elaborates on how our bodies normally tolerate the multitude of bacteria in our guts and the mechanisms that keep our immune responses in check.

Factors Shaping Gut Microbiota

Numerous factors, including diet, birth method, geographical location, and antibiotic exposure, influence infant gut microbiota. Antibiotics, for instance, might diminish vulnerable bacteria, while breastfeeding often replenishes and nourishes gut bacteria. The researchers scrutinized how these influences impact gut microbiota equilibrium and the subsequent development of allergies.

Dr. Turvey emphasizes the potential of the study’s comprehensive analysis: “From these data, we can see that factors such as antibiotic usage in the first year of life are more likely to result in later allergic disorders, while breastfeeding for the first six months is protective. This was universal to all the allergic disorders we studied.”

Prospects for Future Research and Implications

With these insights in hand, the researchers aspire to formulate interventions that rectify imbalances in gut microbiota, potentially thwarting the onset of allergies. Dr. Turvey envisions the possibility of developing therapies that target these interactions during infancy, potentially offering protection against various allergic conditions that often persist into adulthood.

The study is part of the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) Cohort Study, initiated in 2008, which has been tracking children’s health, growth, and environments since birth, yielding valuable revelations about asthma and allergy development.

The research received funding from Genome Canada, Genome British Columbia, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Provincial Health Services Authority, and other entities. The CHILD Cohort Study’s inception was supported by the Allergy, Genes, and Environment Network of Centres of Excellence (AllerGen NCE) and CIHR.

Reference: Nature Communications, August 29, 2023, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40336-4

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Childhood Allergies

More about Childhood Allergies

• Nature Communications: Research Paper
• University of British Columbia News Release
• BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute
• Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) Cohort Study
• Allergy, Genes, and Environment Network of Centres of Excellence (AllerGen NCE)