Most of us are tired of the “new normal”, but are unsure what to do about it. Apparently, the microbiome of infants born during the pandemic lockdowns also underwent a change in the normal which may or may not return to the old normal. In one sense their change had some positive effects in that young children appear to have a lower rate of allergies than those born prior. While the authors consider decreased antibiotics as the mechanism for this decrease, I wonder if there is more to the 2020 baby gut story than that.
As humans in a microbial world, bacteria not only live all around us but inside us as well. Adults carry 3 to 5 pounds of bacteria, mainly in their colons, totaling up to a trillion bacteria from a thousand or more species. These bacteria, a few parasites, some fungi, and even more bacterial viruses (viruses that only attack bacteria) influence our digestion, our immune system, and even our hormones. We also influence them by the foods we eat, the lifestyle we live, and the antibiotics we intermittently swallow. Which ones and how many of them live in our colons along with what effects they have all begin in infancy when our mom’s either pass vaginal bacteria on to us during birth or we pick up bacteria after birth when through a C-Section.
With the pandemic of 2020, the lifestyle exposures of moms and their newborns was altered along with so many other factors in life. Health records indicate a lower rate of antibiotic use, likely from decreased social interactions contributing to lower infection rates initially. Lower antibiotic usage could lead to less interruption in gut microbiome leading to less immune dysregulation leading to less allergies. The authors sound hopeful for using this epidemiological statistic to argue for using less antibiotics.
This all sounds very plausible in terms of explaining away the mechanism for lower allergies in infants. Here lies a danger in medicine when correlation morph into causations without considering alternatives. While this mechanism may play a role in the outcomes noted, taking time to look for other explanations may find other contributing mechanisms. A person’s overall health, especially when the immune system and the microbiome is concerned, is always more complex than we first conceive. If we don’t ask more questions we may miss out on other important implications.
In this case, I would simply ask what other variables changed with the pandemic which could affect the immune system. For one simple example, we also know that more children got behind on their immunizations due to the pandemic. Other research has asked if immunizations could contribute to allergies, so why not look at those who did and those who did not keep up to date on their vaccinations during the pandemic. Then we can compare whether their allergy rates were similar or different. I don’t have the ability to do this kind of study, but surely someone could look at this across a few thousand children to dig out an answer.
In reality, few in conventional medicine want to know the answer to this question. Blaming the change in allergy rates on a changing gut microbiome as affected by lower antibiotic use is an easier pill to swallow. The public health world can run their campaign to lower antibiotic use- which is not necessarily a bad thing, given their overuse and the supply chain chaos. However, ignoring the possible contribution of immunizations to allergy rates is more political and illogical than we should permit. Helping everyone achieve a healthier, more abundant life requires truth regardless of where it leads.
Original Article:
Katri Korpela, Sadhbh Hurley, Sinead Ahearn Ford, Ruth Franklin, Susan Byrne, Nonhlanhla Lunjani, Brian Forde, Ujjwal Neogi, Carina Venter, Jens Walter, Jonathan Hourihane, Liam O’Mahony. Association between gut microbiota development and allergy in infants born during pandemic‐related social distancing restrictions. Allergy, 2024; DOI: 10.1111/all.16069
Thanks to Science Daily:
RCSI. “Lockdowns had an impact on gut microbes and allergies in newborns, new research reveals.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 29 February 2024. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/02/240229124144.htm>.
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
