The Covid-19 pandemic reshaped our daily lives.
Working remotely has somewhat become a new norm, whilst a new importance has been placed on face-to-face interactions as we've learned to appreciate them after our enduring isolation.
Following the good and bad from Covid's impact, scientists have discovered something interesting in babies born during the pandemic.
Dubbed as 'pandemic babies,' infants born during Covid-19 seem to have developed their own unique 'protection' against allergies.
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The Irish research team explained that the enforced social distancing measures during the pandemic have had a big impact on these babies' gut bacteria, setting them apart from babies born before COVID-19.
The study, published in the journal Allergy, involved taking samples of faeces from 351 babies born during the first three months of the pandemic.
Samples were collected when the babies were aged 6, 12, and 24 months old and compared with a group that was born pre-pandemic.
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Allergy tests were also completed at one and two years old.
Questionnaires were handed out to parents to understand diet, home environment and general health.
It was revealed that lockdown restrictions led to babies having more beneficial microbes in their gut which are acquired after birth from the mother.
By age one, only 17% of lockdown babies required antibiotics, compared to 80% of those pre-pandemic, which correlated with higher levels of beneficial bacteria such as bifidobacteria, as stated by joint senior author Liam O'Mahony, professor of immunology at University College Cork.
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Researchers believe the prolonged breastfeeding period could have had an impact also.
Additionally, at the same age, only about 5% of the lockdown babies developed a food allergy compared to 22.8% in the pre-Covid group.
The researchers believe this could be down to lower rates of infection and illness, which led to less antibiotic use.
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Commenting on the study, Professor Jonathan Hourihane, joint senior study author and consultant paediatrician at Children’s Health Ireland Temple Street, said: 'This study offers a new perspective on the impact of social isolation in early life on the gut microbiome.
'Notably, the lower allergy rates among newborns during the lockdown could highlight the impact of lifestyle and environmental factors, such as frequent antibiotic use, on the rise of allergic diseases.'
Hourihane concluded that he hopes to re-examine these children when they are five years old to identify any 'longer-term impacts of these interesting changes in the early gut microbiome.'
I guess we'll have to wait and see to find out more...