Using disinfectants during pregnancy could increase asthma and eczema risk

By Maria Collinge via SWNS

The children of moms-to-be who use disinfectants during pregnancy are more likely to develop asthma and eczema, warns new research.

The odds of youngsters developing asthma or eczema were "significantly higher" if their mothers used disinfectant one to six times a week, according to the study.

The findings, published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, showed that moms who never used disinfectants were less likely to have children suffering the same allergic diseases.

Collated from data on 78,915 mother and child pairings who participated in the Japan Environment and Children’s Study, the risk of diagnosis with allergic diseases in their children when aged three years were examined.

Children of mothers exposed to disinfectants every day were 26 percent more likely to develop asthma.

They were also 29 percent more likely to develop eczema than children of mothers who were never exposed to disinfectants.

Scientists urged that whilst the study establishes a link between disinfect use and allergy development in children, further research is needed to establish the cause.

Study author Dr. Reiji Kojima, of Yamanashi University in Japan, said: “Our findings indicate that exposure [to disinfectants] during pregnancy exerts an effect on allergies in offspring regardless of whether the mother returns to work when the child is one year old, and suggest an effect by exposure during pregnancy alone.

“Given the current increased use of disinfectants to prevent new coronavirus infections, it is of great public health importance to consider whether prenatal disinfectant exposure is a risk for the development of allergic diseases.”

Dr Kojima added: "As disinfectants are an effective tool in the prevention of infectious diseases, further research into the underlying mechanisms is warranted.”