Having a Pet Pig May Offer Some Benefits

Contact with farm environments in infancy might decrease the risk of juvenile Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

That’s according to a study conducted in Germany entitled, “Contact With Farm Animals in Early Life and Juvenile Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Case-Control Study.” Parents of children (ages 6 to 18) from 13 hospitals received a questionnaire regarding consumption of raw milk, contact with farm animals or pets, age of contact, and presence of respiratory allergies. Of those surveyed, 444 had Crohn’s disease (CD), 304 had ulcerative colitis (UC), and 1,481 were control subjects. The control group consisted of children who did not have either of those conditions and were in the hospital undergoing a common eye procedure. Results showed that children with CD and UC were more likely to live in urban areas than were the control children, and the odds of regular contact with any farm animal during the first year of life were reduced significantly for children with CD or UC. The study also found that children with CD had an increased risk of respiratory allergies. The authors ascertain the hypothesis that contact with farm animals during infancy helps protect individuals against childhood allergies, might also hold true for protection against irritable bowel syndrome. (Source: American Academy of Pediatrics : August 2007)