Lockdowns have had a beneficial impact on newborns’ gut microbes and allergies during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Lockdowns during the Covid-19 crisis had a beneficial impact on the development of the gut microbiome of babies born during this period, according to a new study.
- “Pandemic babies” had more good bacteria acquired from their mothers, due to the “unique environment of confinements” with, on the one hand, “the drop in infection rates and therefore the use of antibiotics “, and on the other hand, “the increase in the duration of breastfeeding”.
- “Lower allergy rates among babies born during lockdowns could highlight the role of lifestyle and environment, such as frequent antibiotic use, in the rise in allergic diseases,” according to the ‘study.
It has long been known that our gut microbiome, the ecosystem of bacteria that live in our digestive tract, plays an essential role in human health. In infants, its imbalance is particularly associated with more pathologies such as eczema, asthma, food allergies and even hay fever.
For the first time, a team of scientists has discovered that lockdowns during the Covid-19 crisis had a beneficial impact on the development of the gut microbiome of babies born during this period. His work was published in the journal Allergy.
Infants born during lockdowns have better gut health
To arrive at this observation, researchers from several Irish universities analyzed stool samples from 351 babies born during the first three months of the pandemic, comparing them to pre-pandemic cohorts. They also administered allergy tests to infants at 12 and 24 months, and collected parents’ responses to questionnaires on diet, home environment and overall household health.
In detail, the researchers found that “Newborns had more beneficial microbes acquired from their mothers after birth”. Maternal microbes which, they recall, “may play a protective role against allergic diseases”. Likewise“only 17% of infants needed an antibiotic by the age of one year”which has been correlated with high levels of “good” bacteria such as bifidobacteria.
The role of lifestyle and environment on baby allergies
“Our study offers a new perspective regarding the impact of social isolation on the gut microbiome early in life. Lower allergy rates in babies born during lockdowns could highlight the role of lifestyle and the environment, such as the frequent use of antibiotics, on the increase in allergic diseases.”
The researchers plan to re-examine the children in the study at age 5 to see possible longer-term impacts of these changes in the early gut microbiome.