Prenatal exposure to opioids increases the risk of infections, eczema and dermatitis, and asthma in newborns. This is evident from teratological research by Erin Kelty et al. They conducted a retrospective cohort study among more than 401 thousand newborns and published the results in JAMA Network Open.
Their findings do not come as a complete surprise. It has previously been noted in animal experiments that exposure to opioids during critical periods of fetal immune development can cause the immune system to overreact upon activation. The negative influence of prenatal exposure to opioids on the immune system has also previously been shown in umbilical cord samples: researchers found lower levels of neutrophils, inflammatory cytokines and chemokines compared to unexposed newborns, indicating dysregulated inflammatory processes.
Kelty et al. found no indications of an increased risk of autoimmune diseases in exposed children. But they note that these conditions are rare and are usually diagnosed later in childhood. If you want certainty about this, you should increase the sample size and extend the follow-up, they suggest.
Also read
2024-01-19 15:28:00
#Asthma #eczema #newborns #opioid #exposure
