Hygiene Hypothesis: Illness as a Painful but Valuable Lesson for a High-Strung Immune System

Over the last two decades, a plethora of epidemiological data has emerged suggesting that the prevalence of allergic diseases is increasing at a dramatic rate, especially in developed countries. An intense debate followed over the possible causative factors and mechanisms. In this heavily deliberated field, it seems that the idea that multifactorial determinants are responsible is the single agreed starting point. Yet from this sea of ideologies, the hygiene hypothesis has attracted attention, generating both support and contention (Vercelli, 2006). While it has evolved greatly since conceptualization, the central tenet of this hypothesis remains unchanged: microbial exposures early in life can reduce the likelihood of developing allergic diseases and other immune hypersensitivity diseases. This article provides a broad overview of the literature concerning the hygiene hypothesis: its evidence, mechanisms, and shortcomings.

• Publication year

  2012

• Venue

  The Meducator

• Publication date

  2012-01-18

• Fields of study

  Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.15173/m.v1i13.722
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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