There is another reason to protect young children from respiratory viral infections: acute respiratory viral infections in the first six months of life increase the risk of type 1 diabetes, according to Pannochka, an online publication for girls and women from 14 to 35 years old.. net According to a new study, children who in the first 6 months have had any viral infection affecting the upper respiratory tract and lungs, in the future, the likelihood of autoimmune damage to the pancreas - insulin-dependent diabetes - increases..

“It appears that the first six months are critical for the development of the child's immune system, so serious infections during this period have extremely adverse effects on its functioning,” explains study co-author Andreas Beyerlein from the Helmholtz Center in Munich, Germany..

The new analysis included children who had ARVI at the age of 0-2.9 months, as well as between 3.0 and 5.9 months. It turned out that both groups of children by the age of 8 were significantly more likely to develop type 1 diabetes mellitus compared with those who did not have ARVI at all for up to six months..

Of the 295,420 Bavarian children, 720 were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes by the age of 8. Interestingly, 97% of diabetic children had at least one infection in the first 2 years of life, with 84% being an acute respiratory viral infection..

“Even with familial tendencies, we can see that respiratory viral infections predispose to type 1 diabetes.. In the first months, the baby's body is especially sensitive to viruses, we must protect it during this period, ”urges Dr. Anette-Gabriele Ziegler, Research Fellow at the Helmholtz Center.

The results of a study by German scientists were published in the journal JAMA.

medbe. ru.