Nursery World - Social contact in daycare could ward off risk of leukaemia

Children who attend daycare or playgroups cut their chances of developing leukaemia by 30 per cent, according to new research.

In an analysis of 14 studies looking at an association between socialcontact and childhood leukaemia, researchers from the University ofCalifornia found 12 studies that said social interaction with otherchildren has a protective effect. No research concluded that socialcontact increased the risk of childhood leukaemia.

The studies looked at a combined total of 6,108 children with leukaemiaand 13,704 without the disease. Parents were asked about theirchildren's daycare and playgroup attendance, as well as other forms ofsocial interaction.

Dr Patricia Buffler, who led the research and presented the findings atthe annual Children with Leukaemia conference last week (29 April),said, 'Combining the results from these studies together provided uswith more confidence that the protective effect is real. Our analysisconcluded that children who attended daycare or playgroups had about a30 per cent lower risk of developing leukaemia than those who did not.Combined results for studies of daycare attendance specifically beforethe age of one or two showed a similarly reduced risk.'

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