Pediatr Allergy Immunol
Department of Neuroscience, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Vidarkliniken and Integrative Care Science Centre, Järna, Sweden.
Published: March 2015
Background: Infants from anthroposophic families have low cortisol levels and low risk of IgE-sensitization during first 2 years of life. Our aim was to study the impact of an anthroposophic lifestyle and cortisol levels at 6 months on allergy sensitization up to age 5 years.
Methods: A total of 507 families participated from maternal healthcare centers. Parental lifestyle was categorized as anthroposophic, partly anthroposophic, or non-anthroposophic. Blood samples for analyzes of sensitization were obtained from parents at inclusion and from children at 6, 12, 24, and 60 months. Salivary samples were collected at home at 6 months.
Results: Sensitization increased from 2.9% to 26.0% in the anthroposophic group, from 8.4% to 26.8% in the partly anthroposophic group, and from 19.1% to 44.1% in the non-anthroposophic group. Children from anthroposophic families had lower cortisol levels in the morning, afternoon, and evening. The odds ratio (OR) for anthroposophic lifestyle was always <1 and lowest at 12 months (OR, 0.10; 95% CI, 0.03-0.36). Adjusting for cortisol levels at 6 months increased these ORs at 12 and 24 months. At the same ages, ORs for sensitization were elevated also for cortisol levels at 6 months. Analyzes in children not sensitized at 6 months confirmed the cortisol-related risk of sensitization.
Conclusions: Children from families with an anthroposophic lifestyle have lower risk than comparisons of developing sensitization up to 5 years. This risk is partially explained by low cortisol levels during infancy. High cortisol levels at 6 months predict sensitization up to 24 months.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pai.12342 | DOI Listing |
Front Public Health
August 2023
Professorship Quality of Life, Spirituality and Coping, Faculty of Health, Witten/Herdecke University, Herdecke, Germany.
Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, differences in responses and behaviors were observed among specific groups. We aimed to address how people with an anthroposophical worldview behaved with respect to the perception of burden, fears, and wellbeing. As it is an integral part of their lifestyle and convictions, we addressed the influence of wondering awe and gratitude and perception of nature and times of mindful quietness as resources to cope.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNutrients
July 2023
Nutrition Division, Public Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem 9101002, Israel.
Background: The anthroposophical philosophy is a holistic educational and lifestyle approach. Limited information exists on the health-promoting behavioral norms and obesity rates among children living anthroposophical vs. conventional lifestyles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Integr Neurosci
April 2023
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Oncology and Hematology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
Front Allergy
November 2022
Population Health Research Institute, St. George's, University of London, London, United Kingdom.
In 1989, a short paper entitled "Hay fever, hygiene and household size" observed that British children from larger families were less likely to develop hay fever and suggested that this could be because early exposure to infection prevents allergy. This sibship size association for hay fever, since replicated many times in Britain and other affluent countries and confirmed by objective measures of atopy, prompted what has come to be known as the "hygiene hypothesis for allergy", although that term was not specifically used in the 1989 paper. The present paper reviews the historical roots of the "hygiene hypothesis" and charts its development over more than 30 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
September 2022
Institute of Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Objectives: To determine the prevalence of use of complementary medicine (CM) in Switzerland in 2017, its development since the 2012 Swiss Health Survey, and to examine specific and non-specific sociodemographic, lifestyle and health-related determinants of CM use as compared to determinants of conventional health care use.
Materials And Methods: We used data of 18,832 participants from the cross-sectional Swiss Health Survey conducted by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office in 2017 and compared these data with those from 2012. We defined four CM categories: (1) traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture; (2) homeopathy; (3) herbal medicine; (4) other CM therapies (shiatsu, reflexology, osteopathy, Ayurveda, naturopathy, kinesiology, Feldenkrais, autogenic training, neural therapy, bioresonance therapy, anthroposophic medicine).
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