Children born to mums with allergies are ‘more at risk of autism and ADHD’
A study on rats showed exposure to allergies in the womb triggered lifelong changes in offspring’s brains
KIDS born to mums with allergies are more at risk of autism, a study has found.
Higher rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are also common.
A study on rats showed exposure to allergies in the womb triggered lifelong changes in offspring’s brains.
Scientists think the same may be happening in children born to mums with allergy symptoms in pregnancy.
Allergies strike one in four Brits at some point in their lives.
Numbers are rising and hospital admissions in England for allergy problems jumped 36 per cent between 2012 and 2016, to more than 25,000.
They can be mild, like hay fever, or life-threatening, like peanut allergy.
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Researchers at Ohio State University sensitised female rats to eggs then fed them small amounts during pregnancy.
This triggered a rush of immune system cells to try and repel the allergen.
Follow-up tests showed the newborn rats had significant changes to their brain structures.
Those that survived into adulthood showed signs of autism, hyperactivity and antisocial behaviour.
Researcher Prof Kathryn Lenz told a Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego: “This is evidence that prenatal exposure to allergens alters brain development and function.
“The males born to the allergen-exposed mothers looked more like females.
“They were really hyperactive but socially disengaged.
“That looks a bit like ADHD.”
Autism and ADHD are three to four times more common in boys than in girls.
Nearly 700,000 children and adults in the UK are thought to have autism.
Roughly one in 30 boys is thought to suffer with ADHD.