Unpasteurised milk: protective for allergies and asthma?
What is this study about?
- Studies in farmers’ children have indicated that unpasteurised milk may protect against allergies and asthma. The reasons are unclear and these findings have not been confirmed in non-farmers.
- The current study will assess these protective effects in the general population making use of a “natural experiment”. It will involve 300 non-farming families with children, where at least one family member regularly consumes unpasteurised milk
- We will also recruit 150 families with children who have never consumed unpasteurised milk as a comparison group
- The study will assess whether raw milk is associated with a lower prevalence of allergies and asthma and improved lung function. It will also study the immunological mechanisms and the involvement of pathogenic bacteria.
- This study will contribute towards identifying the anti-allergic components within raw milk and has the potential to lead to innovative and safe interventions for allergies and asthma.
The aims of this study are to assess whether:
- Consumption of raw milk is associated with a lower prevalence of allergies and asthma, lower levels of exhaled nitric oxide (NO; a measure of airway inflammation), and improved lung function.
- The effects of raw milk show a dose-response relationship.
- The effects of raw milk occur in both children and adults.
- Consumption of raw milk affects T lymphocyte helper and regulatory function, allergen presenting cell response and innate immune responses.
- Raw milk affects toll like receptor and CD14 expression (involved in recognition of bacterial components).
- The (hypothesised) reduced risk of allergies and asthma is associated with the immune parameters described in aims 4 and 5.
- Exposure to (raw milk-associated) pathogens is associated with atopy and asthma and the immune parameters described in aims 4 and 5.
Data collection has now been completed.
RELATED PUBLICATIONS

Douwes J, Brooks C, Pearce N. Protective effects of farming on allergies and asthma: have we learnt anything since 1873? Expert Rev Clin Immunol, 2009; 5(3): 213-9. |
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Brooks C,
Pearce N,
Douwes J.
The hygiene hypothesis in allergy and asthma: an update. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol, 2013; 13(1): 70-77.
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Douwes J,
Brooks C,
van Dalen C,
Pearce N.
Importance of allergy in asthma: an epidemiologic perspective. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep, 2011; 11(5): 434-44.
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