This won't surprise us!!

[Rochelle]

http://www.healthypages.net/news.asp?newsid=4068

Early infections may protect against leukemia
2004-02-20 16:24:22

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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Results of a study conducted in Europe generally support the theory that early childhood infections confer protection against leukemia.

Dr. J. Clavel of the French medical research network called INSERM, in Villejuif, France, and colleagues compared the medical and environmental histories of 473 children with acute leukemia -- 408 had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 65 had acute myeloid leukemia (AML) -- with that of 567 similar healthy children. The results are reported in the British Journal of Cancer.

Children with any common infection before age 1 were 20 percent less likely to have ALL than those without an infection. If the infection happened to involve the gut, then the risk of ALL was reduced by 90 percent. No link between infection and AML was seen.

Daycare attendance, an indicator of probable early exposure to infections, also reduced the risk of acute leukemia. Moreover, the earlier daycare was started, the lower the risk of leukemia.

Unexpectedly, however, having at least three older siblings -- thought to increase the likelihood of early infection -- doubled the risk of both ALL and AML.

A history of asthma also reduced the risk of ALL and this association was even stronger for asthmatic children receiving inhalers to open their airways. This latter finding "deserves further investigation," the team writes.

Aside from the finding regarding older siblings, Clavel and colleagues say this study supports the hypothesis that early common childhood infections "may play a protective role in the (development) of childhood leukemia."

SOURECE: British Journal of Cancer, January 12, 2004.

www.rochellemarsden.co.uk

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