Tuberculosis May Protect Against Asthma

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Tuberculosis May Protect Against Asthma – More Evidence of the "Hygiene Hypothesis"

Lending more credence to the increasingly popular "hygiene hypothesis" of asthma and allergies is this report. To summarize:

Study included 235,477 children 13 to 14 years old from 23 countries, including many European countries, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada

There was a significant correlation between the prevalence of asthma or wheezing and reported rates of tuberculosis

An increase in the tuberculosis notification rate of 25 per 100,0000 was associated with an absolute decrease in the prevalence" of reported "wheeze ever" of 4.7%

These results, the researchers conclude, "are consistent with recent experimental evidence which suggests that exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis may reduce the risk of developing asthma."

Thorax 2000;55:449-453.