News Beyond Our Pages
Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: Contact with farm animals and their subsequent microbes have been shown to reduce the risk of allergy and asthma, although the effect of traditional versus industrialized farming methods is not well understood. In a recent study Stein et al (N Engl J Med 2016;375:411-21; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1508749) characterized the immune profiles of 2 genetically similar US farming populations, 30 Amish and 30 Hutterite schoolchildren, who differ in their farming practices. The authors found that the Amish, who practice traditional family farming and are exposed to an environment rich in microbes, had exceedingly low levels of asthma despite increased levels of endotoxin in their homes compared with the Hutterites, who practice industrialized communal farming methods and have endotoxin exposure and rates of asthma consistent with children assimilated in Western culture.
Authors: Marc E. Rothenberg, Jean Bousquet
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology (medical)
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,900
OpenAlex ID: W4238485348