NEW YORK – It seems that if you are infected with the right kind of bacteria, your chances of asthma go down. At least that’s what researchers in the US have found. Apparently, childhood asthma rates are much lower in kids who carry Helicobacter pylori (also known as H. pylori), which was part of the ordinary digestive bacteria for thousands of years before the advent of modern antibiotics.

Children between 3 and 13 who were found to have this bacteria were almost 60 per cent less likely to have asthma. The study also showed that H. pylori was related to lower rates of allergy symptoms, including allergic rhinitis and allergic skin conditions like dermatitis, eczema or rash.

The study is published online in the July issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases. Research was conducted by Dr. Yu Chen of the New York University (NYU) School of Medicine and Dr. Martin J Blaser of NYU Langone Medical Center. Chen said that the “findings [of the study] suggest that absence of H. pylori may be one explanation for the increased risk of childhood asthma.”

Asthma rates have been increasing in western nations. At the same time, H. pylori has been disappearing due to the combination of antibiotics, clean water and sanitized homes. Blaser indicated that as many as 70 per cent of children would have had H. pylori in their digestive tract only two generations ago; now that number is less than 1 in 10.

Why would a bacteria have such wide-ranging effects? The hypothesis is if you have this bacteria in your digestive tract, the immune system learns to be more tolerant by developing a greater population of regulatory T-cells. The result is a higher threshold for allergic sensitization.

Allergies and asthma are often related conditions; your likelihood of asthma is much higher if you have allergies.

Antibiotics are a prime culprit here. Blaser said that there is growing evidence the use of antibiotics for infants and young toddlers raises their risk for asthma. At the same time, “parents and doctors are using antibiotics like water”.

H. pylori isn’t all good though. This specific bacteria is related to gastric cancer and ulcers later in life; however, Blaser believes it’s disappearance is a change that will have definite consequences. More asthma early in life appears to be one of them.

Medical News Today