Exposure to germs may prevent chronic asthma, UA study
University of Arizona researchers have found that infants who attend day care during their first six months of life or have two or more older siblings are nearly half as likely to develop asthma than children who don't.
In a 20-year study released Wednesday, Arizona Respiratory Sciences Center and Steele Memorial Children's Research Center doctors studied more than 1,000 Tucson children from birth, finding that exposure to germs at an early age might prevent development of the most chronic childhood illness.
"If a child doesn't have those kind of exposures, their bodies look at allergens as bad things," said Anne Wright, Respiratory Sciences Center research associate and senior author of the study.
