Parenthood would protect against colds. This is what suggests a study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania and published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine. They found that parents are twice (52% to be precise) less likely to be infected with the virus than people without children. “Being a parent decreases the likelihood of catching a cold when you are exposed to the virus,” said Rodlescia Sneed, lead author of the study.
For the experiment, the researchers relied on information gathered from 795 adults in three previous studies. All the volunteers had injected themselves with nasal spray doses of the rhinovirus responsible for the common cold or flu virus.
After this exposure to the virus, a third of the participants caught a cold. Among parents, the contamination rate was 52% lower than that of “non-parents”.
More curious still, the more the parents had children, the more they seemed protected.
Also, when parents did not live with any of their children under the same roof, the risk of catching a cold was also reduced. In other words, having children even without living with them would be beneficial for health …
Parent: a protective effect to be elucidated
Why would being a parent offer a cold shield? Scientists expected to find an answer in the presence in the parents’ body of specific antibodies protecting them from the common cold. But they found no evidence that this phenomenon is linked to a more resilient immune system in parents. The causes are therefore more psychological.
Perhaps we should look for a beginning of explanation on the side of parental love, well-being and the satisfaction of being a parent? A recent American study has already pointed out that parents were happier than others. A feeling of happiness that could affect your health? The question remains open. “Our results leave the door open to other in-depth studies on the impact of parenthood (frequency of contact with children, quality of parent-child relationship) on the physical health of the parents, ”the researchers conclude.
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