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It is not the absence of vaccines that makes children in an anthroposophic environment not as affected by allergies as other children. A study by the Karolinska Institute denounces the myth that childhood vaccines cause allergies.
Children's vaccines do not cause allergies.
The anthroposophic way of life seems to protect against allergies. Previous research has shown that children who grow up in anthroposophic environments have a slightly lower risk of suffering from allergies. But what is there in this habitat that protects children?
Ursula Flatters, general practitioner and medical doctor at Vidarklin, an anthroposophic society, claimed that there were no vaccines, including measles, that keep children healthy.
Not at all, says Johan Alm, chief physician at the Sachsen Children's and Adolescent Hospital in Stockholm. He studied the case and compared the children of families with an anthroposophic lifestyle with children living in a more conventional way.
"We have not seen a link, which means that some parents' worry about seeing their children sick or allergic to vaccines could be relieved," says Johan Alm at TT.
In this study, Johan Alm and his colleagues followed three groups of children from birth to age five. A total of 466 children from Järna, south of Södertälje, were found, of whom 99 were considered to be completely anthroposophical, while 100 lived in this philosophy and the others.
During the follow-up period, parents answered lifestyle questions and others, while the children were tested several times. Among other things, blood samples were tested, which were tested for the presence of allergies.
– We found in part that the incidence of allergies in anthroposophic children was lower than that of other children. In addition, we found a link between vaccination and a lower incidence of allergies in blood samples, but this result was expected because these children were less allergic. However, when we took into account different risk factors, such as the lifestyle of the family, this relationship disappeared. Therefore, our interpretation is that there is no support for vaccines causing allergies in children, "says Johan Alm.
Exactly what it is in anthroposophic life that gives less allergic children, however, do not know the researchers.
"There can be a variety of environmental factors, such as diet," says Johan Alm.
The study also showed that among the anthroposophic children, 58 were completely unvaccinated at the age of five.
Due to the reluctance of anthroposophists to vaccinate, the community outside Järna has suffered from outbreaks of red dogs and measles over the years.
This study is published in Lancet magazine EClinicalMedicine.
measles
In about 20% of cases of measles, the infection causes one or more complications.
These are the most common in children under 5 and adults over 20 years.
The measles virus can cause infections such as ear, sinus or pneumonia.
The disease can be complicated by acute brain inflammation in about 1 in 1,000 cases, which can be fatal.
According to WHO estimates, nearly 140,000 people died of measles in 2010. Most were children under five years old.
In Sweden, deaths from measles are now very rare.
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