過敏症可能與洗碗方式有關大綱

A new study suggests that parents who wash their dishes by hand, rather than in a dishwashing machine, may unwittingly lower the likelihood that their children will develop allergies.

一項新研究表明，父母用手洗碗——而不是用洗碗機——可能在無意中降低孩子患過敏的可能性。

The new study, published in the journal Pediatrics, looked at whether a number of behaviors that expose children to bacteria early in life might protect them from developing allergies later on. The idea, known as the hygiene hypothesis, is that children raised in particularly sanitized environments are less likely to develop an immune tolerance to trivial threats.

這項新研究發表在《兒科學》(Pediatrics)雜誌上，它研究的是一些讓兒童接觸細菌的行爲能否防止日後出現過敏。這個觀點被稱爲衛生假說，它認爲在特別乾淨的環境中養大的孩子更加難以對無關緊要的威脅產生免疫力。

The researchers followed roughly 1,000 young children and their parents living in the Gothenburg area of Sweden. They investigated behaviors like whether the parents fed their children foods purchased directly from farms, such as eggs, meat and unpasteurized milk. They looked into whether the children ate fermented foods, which have beneficial probiotic bacteria. And they looked into whether the parents washed their dishes by hand or used a dishwasher.

研究者調查了瑞典哥德堡地區約1000名幼兒及其父母的生活。他們調查的行爲包括：父母是否用直接從農場買來的食物餵養孩子，比如雞蛋、肉類和未經高溫消毒的牛奶；這些孩子是否食用含有益生菌的發酵食物；這些父母是用手還是用洗碗機洗碗。

Then they examined whether the children had allergic conditions including asthma, eczema and hay fever. Ultimately, the researchers found that children raised in households where dishes were always washed by hand had half the rate of allergies. They also discovered that this relationship was amplified if the children also ate fermented foods or if the families bought food directly from local farms.

然後他們調查這些孩子是否患有哮喘、溼疹或花粉病等過敏症。最後，研究者發現，在一直用手洗碗的家庭長大的孩子患過敏的比率是用洗碗機洗碗的家庭的一半。他們還發現，如果這些孩子也吃發酵食物或直接從當地農場購買的食物，這種聯繫更爲明顯。

The findings demonstrated only an association, not cause and effect, so it was not clear whether these behaviors directly led to fewer allergies. But it may be the case that these behaviors expose children to innocuous bacteria, which can help strengthen their immune systems, said Bill Hesselmar, an assistant professor at the University of Gothenburg and lead author of the study.

這些發現只是表明一種聯繫，而非因果關係，所以仍不明確這些行爲能否直接導致更少出現過敏。但是這項研究的主要作者、哥德堡大學的助理教授比爾·海瑟瑪(Bill Hesselmar)說，情況可能是，這些行爲能讓孩子接觸無害細菌，從而提高免疫力。

Dr. Hesselmar said that while the sanitizing effect of dishwashing machines can be a good thing, the “less efficient” method of washing dishes by hand might leave behind some bacteria that could have benefits. But he said more research was needed to see if the relationship they found was real and, if so, what was causing it.

海瑟瑪博士說，洗碗機的消毒作用可能是有益的，但是用手洗碗這種“不那麼高效”的方式可能會留下一些有益細菌。但是他說，需要進行更多研究來確定他們發現的這種關係是否屬實，如果屬實的話，原因是什麼。

“It’s an interesting finding and very surprising,” he said. “But we have to see if we can confirm it.”

“這是個有趣的發現，非常令人意外，”他說，“但是我們必須看看能否證實它。”