Pets and dust don’t appear to reduce risk of asthma or allergies
Study Findings:
- Contrary to a commonly-held theory, researchers have found that children who spend less time when they are young around pets and dust don’t appear to have a lower risk of developing asthma or respiratory problems.
- 1 in 10 children were sensitive to dust mites or cat fur
- 1 in 14 had experiences wheezing.
- The risk of becoming allergic or asthmatic increased with exposure to very low levels of allergens during their first years of life. That risk flattened out with higher exposures.
- The increase in risk with little allergen exposure was primarily seen in first-born children and those with a family history of allergies.
Study Recommendations:
- Parents should not worry too much about allergen levels in their home.
“We need to move away from the concept of blanket advice aimed at the whole population to tailor-made individualized measures targeting individuals with specific susceptibilities who will benefit from a particular intervention”
Method:
625 children were followed from birth, and the levels of the dust mites and cat dander in their living rooms were tested when they were only 8 weeks old.
Mothers were interviewed each year and asked if their children had had any trouble breathing during that year. Children were tested at age 5 1/2 to determine if they had any sensitivity to dust mites or cat dander.
Related Articles:
- Original research: Early allergen exposure, skin prick responses, and atopic wheeze at age 5 in English children: a cohort study
P Cullinan, S J MacNeill, J M Harris, S Moffat, C White, P Mills and A J Newman Taylor - Less Exposure to Pets, Dust May Not Cut Allergies
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