A study has been done to look at how air pollution impacts the gut health of babies who are under 6 months old. When parents welcome a baby into the world, they know that they have to take care of its health, and they do this by making sure it is getting enough to eat, getting enough sleep and that it is always warm and loved.
However, there are always things out of mom and dad's control that they may be worried about, and pollution may be one of those things they are concerned about. Air pollution has been a problem for many years now, and some places are worse than others.
Even though mom and dad cannot control the amount of air pollution, it is important to be aware of the impact it can have. According to Medical Xpress, a new study was done to look at how pollution changes a baby's gut, and why it is important.
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The study was done by the University of Colorado at Boulder, and it can be read in full here. The study found that air pollution exposure in the first six months of a baby's life can impact their microbiome, or gut bacteria. This can increase their risk of allergies, obesity, diabetes, and it may even influence their brain development.
This is the first study to show the link between air pollution and changes in the microbiome health of a baby. This is important information for parents who live in areas that have a lot of traffic, wildfires and industrial plants - all of these contribute widely to the amount of air pollution in the area.
Previous research has shown the same results in young adults, but now they know that it can impact infants. To complete this study, researchers looked at 103 healthy and primarily breastfed infants that were enrolled in another study, and they analyzed the samples. They also used where they lived to determine their exposure to air pollution, and what this meant for their health.
Researchers state that infants are at the highest risk because, by nature, they breathe a lot quicker than adults, and their gut microbiome is just starting to take shape. When they take more breaths a minute, they are going to have more exposure than an adult would. This information is important for families, communities, and medical providers who may want to monitor their patients who live in a community with more air pollution.
Sources: Medical Xpress, T & F Online