Microorganisms Found in Child’s Bed Dust May Boo
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In collaboration with the Gentofte Hospital and the Danish Pediatric Asthma Center, University of Copenhagen researchers from the Department of Biology have discovered a connection between children’s bacteria and the microorganisms that exist in the beds of children in an extensive study.
This link implies that the microorganisms may decrease the risk of a child developing autoimmune diseases, allergies and asthma as they grow. While these microorganisms are invisible to the naked eye, they exist in multitudes in a child’s bed, influencing the development of microorganisms in children’s bodies. Ultimately, this impacts how resistant children become to different diseases.
To understand the link better, the researchers examined dust samples that were collected from the beds of 577 children. They then compared these samples to the respiratory samples gathered from 542 infants. The study’s objective was to find out if there was a connection between the bacteria discovered in the infant’s respiratory tracts and the dust microorganisms as well as the environmental factors that influenced microorganism composition in the dust from the infant’s beds.
Professor Søren J. Sørensen explained that researchers found a link between the two bacteria found in children and in the bed dust samples, thus suggesting that the bacteria do influence each other. As we all know microorganisms that live in us are important, especially for one’s health with respect to allergies and asthma, for instance. This also applies to diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Sørensen says that to improve how these ailments are treated, the processes through which microbial life turn up in the early stages of a child’s development needs to be better understood. The microbial life in a bed is influenced by its surroundings. Therefore, changing one’s bedsheets repeatedly may not be required, if further research proves the claim to be right.
Additionally, the researchers studied urban and rural dwellings. They collected 930 fungi and bacteria types from the beds of six-month-old infants. They discovered that rural dwellings had much higher bacteria levels when compared with urban homes. Sørensen explained that prior research has shown that people living in rural areas have more diverse gut flora than city-dwellers. This is mainly because they have more contact with nature and spend a majority of their time outdoors.
Living in rural areas and having pets or older siblings adds to a reduced risk of developing any autoimmune ailments.
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