Amish farm kids remarkably immune to allergies: study

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Amish farm kids remarkably immune to allergies: study.

<http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/04/us-kidsallergies-idUSBRE8431J92012050\

4>

Amish children raised on rural farms in northern Indiana suffer from

asthma and allergies less often even than Swiss farm kids, a group known

to be relatively free from allergies, according to a new study.

" The rates are very, very low, " said Dr. Mark Holbreich, the study's

lead author. " So there's something that we feel is even more protective

in the Amish " than in European farming communities.

What it is about growing up on farms -- and Amish farms in particular --

that seems to prevent allergies remains unclear.

Researchers have long observed the so-called " farm effect " -- the low

allergy and asthma rates found among kids raised on farms -- in central

Europe, but less is known about the influence of growing up on North

American farms.

Holbreich, an allergist in Indianapolis, has been treating Amish

communities in Indiana for two decades, but he noticed that very few

Amish actually had any allergies....

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Amish children living in Northern Indiana have a very low prevalence of

allergic sensitization

Mark Holbreich, Jon Genuneit, ne Weber, Charlotte

Braun-Fahrlaender, et al.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2012.03.016

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