Cremonini Filippo, Gasbarrini Antonio
Internal Medicine, Universita' Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2003 Jun;15(6):635-6. doi: 10.1097/00042737-200306000-00009.
It is uncertain whether the exposure to infections may decrease or increase the risk of allergy development in adult age. According to the hygiene hypothesis, an early childhood infection can down-regulate immunity, suppressing allergic and autoimmune disorders. Novel epidemiological data from a cross-sectional survey show that in subjects with active Helicobacter pylori infection the prevalence of asthma, eczema, allergic rhinitis is lower than in H. pylori-negative subjects. This information is supported by several mechanistic disease models, but is in contrast with previous reports on the association between H. pylori and atopic conditions. The public health relevance of both allergic disorders and H. pylori-related diseases calls for prospective and therapeutic studies. Studies able to show a cause-effect relationship are now essential to bring evidence that might make the case against H. pylori eradication in children and when such intervention is not highly recommended.
在成年期接触感染是否会降低或增加过敏发生风险尚不确定。根据卫生假说，儿童早期感染可下调免疫力，抑制过敏性和自身免疫性疾病。一项横断面调查的新流行病学数据显示，幽门螺杆菌感染活跃的受试者中哮喘、湿疹、过敏性鼻炎的患病率低于幽门螺杆菌阴性受试者。这一信息得到了多个疾病机制模型的支持，但与先前关于幽门螺杆菌与特应性疾病之间关联的报道相反。过敏性疾病和幽门螺杆菌相关疾病在公共卫生方面的相关性需要进行前瞻性和治疗性研究。能够证明因果关系的研究对于提供证据至关重要，这些证据可能会成为反对在儿童中根除幽门螺杆菌以及不强烈推荐这种干预措施的理由。
