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Cleanliness is the enemy of a child's immune system
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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It is known that children from large cities suffer from allergies much more often than children from rural areas. Scientists from the University of Chicago Ruhi Gupta created a map of the prevalence of childhood food allergies in the United States. The study analyzed data on more than 40 thousand children and adolescents.
It became known that the highest percentage of children with peanut allergy live in large cities. And 2.4 percent of children in the city suffered from seafood allergy, while in rural areas only 0.8 percent of children.
6.2 percent of children with allergies live in rural areas, and 9.8 percent in urban areas. Moreover, in almost half of the cases, allergies are accompanied by dangerous complications that can threaten the child's life.
Scientists have put forward their theories regarding this “allergy geography.” It is believed that fine dust on city streets depresses the immune system. However, how can we explain the fact that children from wealthy families are much more likely to have allergies than children from poor families? Probably because children’s immune systems undergo natural “hardening” when they encounter new microbes and bacteria contained in dirt. Children from clean, sterile rooms do not have the opportunity to develop their immune system, while children from rural areas develop it and become immune to allergens.
"The discovery showed that the environment has a huge impact on the development of food allergies. The same can be said about the geography of asthma. However, understanding the factors of urban and rural environments will help scientists develop methods for preventing the disease," explains Dr. Rachi Gupta.
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