Children who go to daycare programs may have more infections and runny noses than those who stay at home, but will probably develop fewer allergies later on, according to a Harvard School of Medicine study.

The research published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine is another study that reinforces the "hygiene hypothesis," which suggests that children who are not exposed to bacteria and viruses during childhood experience more allergy-related conditions later in life.

During the past 30 years, rates of asthma, which can be triggered by allergies, have increased steadily in the United States and other developed countries. Scientists believe this may be caused by an increased "hygenic" environment.

Other studies have also reported that children who grow up on farms where allergens and bacteria thrive are also less likely to develop allergies than children who are not exposed to those conditions.

Children in daycare during the first year of life had lower levels of allergy-associated antibodies in their blood at two years of age than their stay-at-home peers.

Daycare attendance did not appear to increase or decrease asthma risk at age four.

Kids with respiratory tract infections in the first year of life were more likely to have wheezing at ages two and three, but no increased risk of asthma at age four.

The protective effect of daycare in early life against allergies in older children begins by two years of age.

All of the 500 children included in the survey had at least one parent with a history of allergic reactions.

"Our results also suggest that although daycare attendance in early life is associated with a higher risk of wheezing early on... it is not associated with a higher risk of wheezing after age 2 years," Dr. Juan C. Celedon of Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts told Reuters.

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