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 The results suggest that daycare may ultimately protect children
from stomach infections over time.
So-called acute gastroenteritis is an important cause of illness and
doctor visits in developed countries, particularly among
preschoolers in the winter, said senior author Marieke de Hoog of
the University Medical Center Utrecht.
While daycare has been linked with an increased risk of stomach
bugs, less was known about whether the risk decreases later in
childhood, her team writes in Pediatrics.
For the new study, the authors tracked 1,626 Dutch children for the
first six years of life, including 1,344 who attended daycare before
their first birthday.
Over those six years, there were about 12 stomach infections each
year for every 100 children in daycare, compared to about 13
infections among those not attending daycare.
While rates of infection were similar across the entire six years,
the children in daycare were about 13 percent more likely to be
diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis during the first year, compared
to kids who weren't in daycare.
Children in daycare had a lower risk of infections from years three
to six, compared to kids not in daycare, the researchers found.
"It is even possible that the protective effect persist beyond six
years of age, however more research is needed to support that,"
wrote de Hoog in an email to Reuters Health.
Dr. David Dunkin, pediatric gastroenterologist at The Mount Sinai
Hospital in New York City, said the increased risk of stomach
infections in the first year of daycare is likely a result of kids
being exposed for the first time to the stomach infection-causing
germs.
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"If (parents) can hang in there for the first year of them being
sick, then the time after that is going to be pretty calm with less
infections," said Dunkin, who was not involved with the new
research.
The new study can't say why children in daycare seem to have a lower
risk of infection as they get older, but de Hoog said the body may
learn to protect itself.
Dunkin said the best advice for parents with kids suffering with a
stomach infection is to make sure they're getting plenty of liquids.
"A lot of these kids aren’t going to want to eat, because they're
not feeling well, but we suggest small sips frequently," he said.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1VOHVnN Pediatrics, online April 25, 2016.
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