Early Farm Life Protects Kids' Bowels
Researchers suspect it bolsters the immune system

(HealthDay News) -- Children who have regular contact with farm animals when they're very young are less likely to develop Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis.

That's the main finding of a German study that compared rates of these inflammatory bowel diseases against kids' exposure to farm animals in the first year of life.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics , exemplifies what researchers refer to as the "hygiene hypothesis."

That theory "refers to the observation that children living in environments with lower levels of microbial exposure seem to be at higher risk for the development of allergies," the study's lead author, Katja Radon, head of the Unit for Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology at Ludwig Maximillian University, Munich, told HealthDay .

In other words, growing up in an environment that is too sterile might impede development of the immune system, increasing a person's likelihood of experiencing allergic and autoimmune diseases.

Crohn's and ulcerative colitis are the two most common types of inflammatory bowel disease, says the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America. Both are considered chronic conditions that can be controlled with treatment but not cured.

Crohn's disease most often affects the lower part of the small intestine and the large intestine, or colon, causing inflammation deep within the intestinal wall, says the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. It is diagnosed most often in people between the ages or 20 and 30.

Ulcerative colitis generally starts between the ages of 15 and 30, causing inflammation and sores in the lining of the rectum and colon, the institute explains.

At least 100,000 young people under age 18 have an inflammatory bowel disease, the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation estimates.

The German study involved kids 6 to 18 years old, including more than 300 with ulcerative colitis, 444 with Crohn's and almost 1,500 who had neither condition.

Kids who regularly visited or lived on farms as infants were 50 percent less likely to develop Crohn's as they got older and 60 percent less likely to get ulcerative colitis than children not exposed to farm living.

Exposure to cattle proved particularly helpful, reducing the chances of Crohn's and colitis by 60 percent and 70 percent, respectively.

Though it's not clear what specifically might be providing this protection, one expert says that letting kids get a little dirty might not be a bad idea.

"I don't mean that we all have to eat dirt, but if we could isolate what is in it that is good, maybe we'd have a good treatment" for inflammatory bowel, Dr. Joel Rosh, director of pediatric gastroenterology at Goryeb Children's Hospital in Morristown, N.J., told HealthDay . "These various areas of research are going to unlock the secrets that we need to cure these diseases."

In the meantime, the Nemours Foundation offers parents tips to help their children cope with inflammatory bowel disease:

• Seek treatment as soon as symptoms appear.
• Encourage the child to eat small meals throughout the day to lessen symptoms.
• Pack nutritious snacks and lunches. Avoid junk food high in fat and sodium, which can intensify symptoms.
• Call the child's doctor if he or she begins losing weight quickly, has repeated bouts of diarrhea or complains of abdominal cramping.

On the Web

Learn more about inflammatory bowel disease at the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America.

SOURCES: HealthDay News ; Katja Radon, Ph.D., head, Unit for Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology and Net Teaching, Institute and Outpatient Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Ludwig Maximillian University, Munich, Germany; Joel Rosh, M.D., director of pediatric gastroenterology, Goryeb Children's Hospital, Atlantic Health, Morristown, N.J.; August 2007, Pediatrics ; Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America (www.ccfa.org); National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, Md.; Nemours Foundation (www.kidshealth.org)
Author: Karen Pallarito
Publication Date: Aug. 31, 2008
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