BMJ  2005;330 (4 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7503.0-a

... and let your baby acquire infections early in life

Children who are exposed to regular social activities outside their families in the first few months of their life are less likely to develop acute lymphoblastic leukaemia later on. Using day care and social activity as proxies for exposure to infection, Gilham and colleagues (p 1294) compared more than 3000 children with cancer with more than 6000 controls. They not only found an association but also a significant dose-response trend (P < 0.001). Other malignancies showed a similar pattern.

Credit: BURGER/PHANIE/REX

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Relevant Article

Day care in infancy and risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: findings from UK case-control study

C Gilham, J Peto, J Simpson, E Roman, T O B Eden, M F Greaves, F E Alexander for the UKCCS Investigators
BMJ 2005 330: 1294. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]