Link between childhood stress and allergies found

A long-term research study conducted by the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig, Germany, has discovered a significant link between childhood stress and an increased risk of developing allergies later on in life. The researchers examined blood samples from 234 six-year-old children. What they discovered was that children who had experienced a stressful situation, such as moving house or the separation of their parents, also exhibited higher concentrations of the stress-related neuropeptide vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) in their blood.