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No Link Between Vaccines and Allergies, Study Finds
Researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden recently published their findings from a long-term study comparing the rates of allergies in children who received vaccinations in early childhood versus those who did not. They found that the development of allergies does not appear to be caused by vaccines.
In the researchers’ own words: “We found no support for an association between early childhood vaccination and subsequent allergic sensitization. Our findings do not support scepticism towards early childhood vaccination motivated by allergy risk.”
Rates of allergic diseases like asthma, food allergies, hay fever, and eczema have been steadily increasing over the last several decades, which has led to an interest in uncovering the aetiology (or set of causes) responsible for the increase. One leading hypothesis is the “hygiene hypothesis,” which holds that in certain parts of the world living conditions may be too clean. In such conditions, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, “kids aren’t being exposed to germs that train their immune systems to tell the difference between harmless and harmful irritants.” The immune system is believed to then develop abnormally, giving rise to allergies and other allergic and inflammatory diseases.
