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Children raised in a house with two or more dogs or cats during the first year of life may be less likely to develop allergic diseases as compared with children raised without pets, according to a study in the August 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).
"The striking finding here is that high pet exposure early in life appears to protect against not only pet allergy but also other types of common allergies, such as allergy to dust mites, ragweed, and grass," says Marshall Plaut, M.D., chief of the allergic mechanisms section at NIAID. "Other studies have suggested a protective effect of pet exposure on allergy and asthma symptoms, but generally have looked only at whether pet exposure reduced pet allergy. This new finding changes the way scientists think about pet exposure; scientists must now figure out how pet exposure causes a general shift of the immune system away from an allergic response."
Early pet exposure reducing the risk of allergies in children. It's part of something called the hygiene hypothesis, and it's been tossed around for a few years now. Evidence is mounting that it may be true. Studies found that exposure to pets in early years of a child's life might significantly lower the risk according to some pediatric allergy specialists.
The allergy researchers followed a group of about 500 children almost equally split between boys and girls from birth to age seven. Children were checked regularly with blood tests to measure antibodies that cause allergies, skin reaction tests that show if someone is sensitive to an allergy, and a breathing test to measure their lung function commonly used to detect if their child has an asthma flare or not.
The researchers also collected information on exposure to cigarette smoke, home and daycare environments and measured allergen levels in the household such as dust and other air samples. They also asked about pets in the home.
So the allergists found that children who lived with two or more animals were significantly less likely to have a positive skin test, which signifies a reaction to the allergen rather than those who had no exposure to pets. Children with pets were also less likely to have allergen antibodies in their blood. Boys especially seem to benefit from pet exposure. Not only did they have lower antibody levels, they had better lung tests and less evidence of asthma if there were two or more cats or dogs in the house.
The study adds to the growing literature about the hygiene hypothesis that the cleaner we live, which is common in our western world lifestyle, the more likely we'll get asthma and allergies. It confirms that observation that children with a history of pet exposure in the first years of life may have less asthma. Boys do tend to get more asthma and allergies, though.
Children raised in a house with two or more dogs or cats during the first year of life may be less likely to develop allergic diseases as compared with children raised without pets, according to a study in the August 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).
"The striking finding here is that high pet exposure early in life appears to protect against not only pet allergy but also other types of common allergies, such as allergy to dust mites, ragweed, and grass," says Marshall Plaut, M.D., chief of the allergic mechanisms section at NIAID. "Other studies have suggested a protective effect of pet exposure on allergy and asthma symptoms, but generally have looked only at whether pet exposure reduced pet allergy. This new finding changes the way scientists think about pet exposure; scientists must now figure out how pet exposure causes a general shift of the immune system away from an allergic response."
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DOES EARLY PET EXPOSURE HELP WITH ALLERGIES DOWN THE ROAD?Early pet exposure reducing the risk of allergies in children. It's part of something called the hygiene hypothesis, and it's been tossed around for a few years now. Evidence is mounting that it may be true. Studies found that exposure to pets in early years of a child's life might significantly lower the risk according to some pediatric allergy specialists.
The allergy researchers followed a group of about 500 children almost equally split between boys and girls from birth to age seven. Children were checked regularly with blood tests to measure antibodies that cause allergies, skin reaction tests that show if someone is sensitive to an allergy, and a breathing test to measure their lung function commonly used to detect if their child has an asthma flare or not.
The researchers also collected information on exposure to cigarette smoke, home and daycare environments and measured allergen levels in the household such as dust and other air samples. They also asked about pets in the home.
So the allergists found that children who lived with two or more animals were significantly less likely to have a positive skin test, which signifies a reaction to the allergen rather than those who had no exposure to pets. Children with pets were also less likely to have allergen antibodies in their blood. Boys especially seem to benefit from pet exposure. Not only did they have lower antibody levels, they had better lung tests and less evidence of asthma if there were two or more cats or dogs in the house.
The study adds to the growing literature about the hygiene hypothesis that the cleaner we live, which is common in our western world lifestyle, the more likely we'll get asthma and allergies. It confirms that observation that children with a history of pet exposure in the first years of life may have less asthma. Boys do tend to get more asthma and allergies, though.
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