Attending kindergarten at an early age can protect against allergen sensitivity. A study with these findings was presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
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Jonathan Witonsky, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues examined the association between early daycare exposure and sensitization to allergy. The analysis included 435 children (born at <36 weeks' gestation) who participated in the Puerto Rican Metagenomic and Epidemiological Study of Infant Respiratory Outcomes (PRIMERO) and were followed for two years (96 of them attending kindergarten).
Researchers found that total immunoglobulin E levels were on average 142 IU/mL lower among children who attended kindergarten compared with those who did not. Children who attended daycare had lower odds of permanent sensitization to aeroallergens compared to children who did not attend daycare.
Scientists say the results of the PRIMERO Infant Study provide crucial insight into the impact of daycare attendance on the development of childhood asthma and allergic diseases.