Chr Hansen To Discover If Probiotic Can Reduce Children’s Absence From Daycare

The children will be given BB-12 with a view to investigating if this particular strain can reduce the number of sick days caused by infections. Samples will be taken to document how the lactic acid bacteria affect the children’s immune system, gut flora and intestinal system. In addition the study will generate knowledge about the frequency of specific infections and allergies.

18 Jan 2013 --- Sick children who cannot go to daycare are a costly affair, as parents must skip work in order to look after them.

In America, 42 percent of parents with children in daycare report having missed work up to three or more times over a 12 month period (source: C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital). In Denmark, where the new study supported by the Danish Council for Strategic Research will be carried out, young children reach an average of 12 sick days a year resulting in 700,000 days of absence from work (source: University of Copenhagen). The study, ProbiComp, will be initiated to document if health promoting lactic acid bacteria, the so-called probiotics, can have an impact on young children, who are repeatedly down with the cold or other infections.

The study focuses on infants and young children between 9 and 15 months old, which is the age at which children typically start daycare. In a new environment with many other children they are likely to get sick more, which is a problem for both the individual family and society at large.

The children will be given BB-12 with a view to investigating if this particular strain can reduce the number of sick days caused by infections. Samples will be taken to document how the lactic acid bacteria affect the children’s immune system, gut flora and intestinal system. In addition the study will generate knowledge about the frequency of specific infections and allergies.

“We always welcome scientific research and are pleased to be part of this study. To Chr. Hansen documentation is key. With more than 20 clinical studies on BB-12 already conducted with children, we have a clear indication of an effect of BB-12. The ProbiComp project adds weight to our ambitious program of probiotic clinical studies,” says Dorte Eskesen, Senior Scientific Advisor, Health & Nutrition Division, Chr. Hansen.