Amish Farm Kids Have Lower Asthma, Allergy Risk: Study

Amish Farm Kids Have Lower Asthma, Allergy Risk: Study - Yahoo! News:


Children growing up in the Amish culture in Switzerland have significantly less asthma and allergies than Swiss children who didn't grow up on a farm, according to new research.

What's more, the Amish youngsters even have less risk of asthma and allergy than Swiss children who grew up on non-Amish farms.

The study could support the "hygiene hypothesis" that a too-clean world is causing today's urbanized kids to be more sensitive to allergens than their country cousins.

"In Europe, children living on traditional farms seem to have a very low prevalence of asthma and allergy," noted the study's lead author, Dr. Mark Holbreich, an allergist with Allergy and Asthma Consultants, in Indianapolis. In contrast, he said, "in the general population as many as 50 percent will have evidence of allergic sensitivity. They may not have all the symptoms of allergy, but they will test positive for sensitivity,"