Cat and dust mite sensitivity and tolerance in relation to wheezing among children raised with high exposure to both allergens

A, The percentage of children with IgE antibody to dust mite and cat allergens among children who had lived with a cat ever compared with children who had never lived with a cat. B, Prevalence of IgE antibody to cat among allergic children. Actual values are shown in parentheses under each column. Children who lived with a cat ever were examined on the basis of timing of exposure. Among families who had never lived with a cat, those who had chosen not to own a cat because of allergic symptoms were included in the choice group. The prevalence of sensitization to cat among allergic subjects in the choice group was significantly different from that seen in the group living with a cat currently (^∗P=.004).

Titers of IgE antibody (in international units per milliliter) to dust mite and cat allergens among children who lived with a cat ever compared with children who never lived with a cat. Children with wheezing are indicated by filled circles. The geometric mean titer of IgE antibody is shown for each allergen. The number of sera negative for each allergen is indicated in parentheses below each column.

Titers of IgE antibody to the major allergens Der p 1, Der p 2, and Fel d 1 were measured using streptavidin CAPs. Boxes indicate values between the 25th and 75th percentiles (median shown with horizontal line). Whisker bars extend to the 10th and 90th percentiles. Results are shown for 210 children for whom sufficient serum was available.