Mothers who drink milk containing \’friendly bacteria\’ (probiotics) while pregnant and breastfeeding may reduce their child\’s risk of developing eczema, reports a new study. And if their child does develop eczema, it may be less severe.
最新研究表明，母亲在怀孕和哺乳期间喝含有\”友好细菌\”(益生菌)的牛奶可能减少她们的孩子患湿疹的危险。即使她们的孩子患湿疹，病况也相对较轻。 What do we know already?
那么我们已经知道了什么？ Probiotics are tiny organisms, usually bacteria, which occur naturally in some foods (such as yoghurt) and are added to others (such as milk and soya drinks). They are also available as supplements.
益生菌是一类微生物，通常是自然生长在某些食物中的细菌（如酸奶）和其他饮料（如牛奶和豆制品饮料）。他们也做为食品的添加剂。 Probiotics are often called \’friendly bacteria\’ because they help with digestion and protect against some types of harmful bacteria. Studies also show they may help the immune system to develop and reduce the risk of allergies, which occur when the immune system overreacts to something harmless, like pollen. This has led researchers to wonder whether probiotics might be used to prevent some allergy-related conditions, such as eczema.
益生菌通常被称作“友好的细菌”是因为他们有助于消化并阻止一些有害细菌的侵入。研究显示他们还可能增加人体免疫力和减少那些因为免疫系统对花粉等某些无害生物的过激反应而产生过敏的危险。这导致研究者对是否益生菌可能被用来阻止某些环境过敏感到好奇，如湿疹。 Eczema is a skin condition that makes patches of skin become dry, red and itchy. It is very common, particularly among children. About 16 in 100 children in the UK have eczema.
湿疹是一种皮肤病，它使皮肤产生斑点、变得干燥、鲜红和瘙痒。这是一种非常常见的疾病，尤其对于儿童。在英国大约在100名儿童中就有16个患湿疹。 Some studies have found that children have a lower risk of eczema if they are given probiotics as babies. However, these studies have looked mainly at children who have a family history of eczema and are at high risk, rather than children in general. Also, few studies have explored whether giving mothers probiotics while pregnant or breastfeeding might have a beneficial effect.
一些研究发现在婴儿时期给予益生菌的儿童患湿疹的危险要小。可是，这些研究并不全面，它主要针对了那些有湿疹家族史的儿童并且这些儿童有更大可能患湿疹。另外，少数研究发现在孕期或哺乳期给予母亲益生菌可能得到有益的结果。 To help fill these gaps, Norwegian researchers have now done a study of 415 pregnant women who were planning to breastfeed their babies. Half of the women drank milk with probiotics from the 36th week of their pregnancy until their baby was 3 months old. The other half drank identical milk that contained no probiotics. The researchers then followed up the women two years later to find out whether their children had eczema.
为了填补这些空白，挪威研究人员对415位打算哺乳的已怀孕妇女进行了研究。一半的妈妈从她们怀孕的第36周到她们的宝宝3个月止喝带有益生菌的牛奶，另一半所喝的奶中则没有益生菌。两年后研究人员对这些妈妈进行跟踪调查是否她们的孩子患过湿疹。 What does the new study say?
我们看看新研究结果说了些什么？ Children born to women who drank the probiotic milk were half as likely to have eczema at age 2 than those whose mothers drank the regular milk. And the children in the probiotics group who did develop eczema had less severe symptoms overall. These results didn\’t change when the researchers factored in other things that might have affected the children\’s risk of having eczema and other allergies, such as whether their mother smoked, whether they were breastfed for only a short time, and whether they started eating food before age 6 months.
那些喝了带有益生菌牛奶的妇女的孩子在两岁前患有湿疹是喝平常牛奶的一半。并且益生菌组的所患有湿疹的症状总体上要比非益生菌组轻。当研究人员把其他可能影响儿童患湿疹和其他过敏因素考虑进去后，如母亲是否吸烟，是否他们仅仅短时间接受哺乳还有是否他们在6个月前开始给予食物等，这个结果并未改变。 Interestingly, the children most likely to benefit from probiotics were those with no family history of eczema or related allergies. This suggests, say the researchers, that widespread use of probiotics by pregnant and breastfeeding women might be worthwhile for curbing rates of childhood eczema.
有趣的是，从益生菌中得益的儿童好像更多地是那些没有湿疹家族史或相关过敏症的家庭。这建议，研究人员说，在孕期和哺乳期的妇女广泛使用益生菌来抑制儿童患湿疹的几率是值得的。 How reliable are the findings?
这个发现有多少可信度？ These findings should be quite reliable as the study was a randomised, double-blind controlled trial. This is the best type of study for finding out whether a treatment works.
因为这个研究是随机的，双重盲目控制的实验，所以这些发现应该是非常可靠的。这是最好的研究方法来验证治疗方式是否有效。 However, one-third of the women dropped out of the study before it finished. This is slightly more than the researchers anticipated, which weakens their results, although not substantially.
可是，三分之一的妇女在研究结束前就退出了。这有点高于研究者们的期望值，这多少减弱了他们的研究结果，虽然不是很多。 Where does the study come from?
研究从何而来？ The study was done by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. It was funded by the Norwegian Research Council, Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics AS and a research foundation called Nidarosfondet. The study appeared in the British Journal of Dermatology, which is owned by the British Association of Dermatologists.
这项研究是由挪威科技大学的研究人员完成的。它是由挪威研究委员会，西门子医疗诊断协会和一所名叫Nidarosfondet的研究基金会资助。这项研究刊登在由英国皮肤病协会主办的英国皮肤学报。 What does this mean for me?
这对我意味着什么？ This study adds to a growing body of research showing that probiotics may be useful in preventing eczema in young children. You may find this interesting if you are pregnant or have recently had a baby. And the idea of taking probiotics yourself – rather than giving them to your infant – may also appeal to you.
这项研究增加到研究正在生长的身体来显示益生菌可能对幼儿时期防止湿疹很有用。你会发现这很有趣儿，如果你正怀孕或者刚刚有了一个婴儿。并且采取你自己服用益生菌的想法——而不是给你的婴儿——也许对你同样有吸引力。 However, studies have yet to reveal exactly how probiotics might help prevent eczema and which \’friendly bacteria\’ work best. This study used three probiotics that have had positive results in other research: Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5 and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis Bb-12.
无论怎样，研究已经正确揭示了益生菌是怎样可能帮助防止湿疹的并且哪个“友好的细菌”起到最好的作用。这项研究用了在其他研究中得到的好结果的三种益生菌：鼠李糖乳酸杆菌（Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG）、嗜酸乳杆菌（Lactobacillus acidophilus) La-5和动物双歧杆菌乳亚种Bb-12。 What should I do now?
我们现在应该做什么呢？ If you\’re pregnant or breastfeeding and interested in taking probiotics, talk to your doctor or midwife. Although these \’friendly bacteria\’ are unlikely to cause serious side effects, it\’s best to check before making any changes to your diet when you\’re pregnant.
如果你正在孕期或者哺乳期并且对服用益生菌感兴趣，请告诉你的医生或者助产士。虽然这些“友好细菌”看起来并没有严重的不良影响，在你怀孕期间对日常饮食有任何改变还是确认一下为好。
大自然的智慧 