Poop Experts Link Newborn Gut Bacteria To Predicting Asthma In Kids
A steaming pile of evidence suggests whether your kid will have breathing problems.
Microbiologists say breathing and pooping may be more closely related than you think — outside of the latter ruining the former. A new study suggests there is a “very” statistically significant correlation between a baby’s gut bacteria and the likeliness it will develop asthma.
According to Science, researchers looked at over 300 children at 3 months and 1 year old and then followed up with them at 1, 3, and 5 years of age. Checking stool samples, they found that babies with low or undetectable levels of 4 specific bacteria at 3 months old all showed early signs of asthma by the end of their first year. Meanwhile, every baby with higher levels of these microbes at 3 months showed no symptoms of asthma later on.
This could enable doctors to diagnose, treat, or even prevent asthma within a child’s first 100 days.
The discovery could enable doctors to diagnose, treat, or even prevent asthma within a child’s first 100 days, which would be lightyears ahead of our current detection methods — basically waiting for the lungs to prove they suck at sucking.
The latest findings are another example of scientists believing that gut bacteria can have ramifications far beyond dictating how gross diaper duty is. Back in June, a study showed that gut bacteria can even be linked to a child’s temperament. Though you’d probably be pissy too if you had asthma.
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