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Infant Health Risks from House Dust Mites: A Gap in Safe Sleep Guidelines

For over 30 years, scientific research has consistently demonstrated that excessive exposure to house dust mite (HDM) body parts and droppings can significantly increase the risk of developing allergic diseases in infants from families with a history of allergies. These diseases include:

Eczema (atopic dermatitis)
Rhinitis
Asthma

Despite this evidence, the potential health risks associated with HDM exposure are not explicitly addressed in current Safe Sleep Guidelines for Infants.

3,500

Infants die of sleep related deaths in the USA each year

400 Million

People globally are diagnosed with Asthma

$60 Billion

Yearly USA healthcare/social costs due to Asthma

Infants exposed to high levels of HDMs may develop:

Sensitization: The immune system becomes reactive to HDM proteins, or the bacteria they carry leading to an increased likelihood of allergic reactions or bacterial infection.
Allergic diseases: These conditions can significantly impact a child's quality of life and may require long-term medical management, including the use of medications.

Recent research highlights the importance of early identification of children at risk of developing asthma. Several screening tools have been developed to identify children under the age of 4 at increased risk. These tools consistently identify HDM exposure as a significant risk factor.

Addressing the Risk:

Raising awareness: Public health campaigns should emphasize the importance of minimizing HDM exposure in infant environments.
Improving guidelines: Safe Sleep Guidelines should be updated to include information on the potential health risks of HDM exposure and provide practical advice for reducing exposure.
Promoting accessible information: Easily accessible information and resources should be made available to parents and healthcare professionals on how to minimize HDM exposure in the infant’s environment.

(image from gracobaby.eu)
Example: Modifying risk of HDM exposure through anti-mite bedding

Safe Sleep Guidelines for Infants 2022-2025

‘Sleep-Related Infant Deaths: Updated 2022 Recommendations for Reducing Infant Deaths in Sleep Environments’, Moon RY, Carlin RF, Hand I, Pediatrics, (2022),150, (1): e2022057990. Doi: org/1542/-peds.2022-057990

World Health Organization
Making sure newborns and children under 5 years sleep safely

NHS
Newborn and baby sleeping advice for parents

The Lullaby Trust
Why do we need to keep babies safe from infection?

References

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‘Risk factors for bronchiolitis hospitalization during the first years of life in a multi-center birth cohort’. Lanari.M. et al. Ital.J.Pediatr.2015 41:40

‘House dust mites as potential carriers for IgE sensitization to bacterial antigens’, Dzoro S et al, ‘Allergy’, 2018; 73:115-12

‘Lessons in Innate and Allergic Immunity From Dust Mite Feces and Tick Bites’, Keshavarz B, Erickson LD, Platts-Mills TAE, Wilson JM. Font. Allergy, Sec. Allergens, Volume 2, 2021

The Inside Story: health effects of indoor air quality on children and young people. January 2020, Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

‘Investigating the microbiome of house dust mites in South Korea’, Yi M-h, Kim M, Yong T-S, Kim JY, ‘Front. Allergy’, 2023, 4:1240727

Protease allergens as initiators-regulators of allergic inflammation. SOH et al, 'Allergy' 2023;78: 1148-1168

‘The pediatric asthma risk score (PARS): making the move to the most accurate pediatric asthma risk screening tool’ Expert Review of Clinical Immunology, 2019, Vol 15, Issue 11. P 1115-1118

‘Prediction of adult asthma risk in early childhood using novel adult asthma predictive risk scores’, Allergy, AJ Farhan et al 2023, Nov. 78 (11) p2969-2979 DOI: 10.111/all.15876

Infant Health Risks from House Dust Mites: A Gap in Safe Sleep Guidelines

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