The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Volume 112, Issue 2 , Pages 289-300, August 2003

Pet-keeping in childhood and adult asthma and hay fever: European community respiratory health survey☆☆☆

Bergen, Norway, Neuherberg, Germany, London, United Kingdom, Basel, Switzerland, and Los Angeles, Calif

From aSection of Respiratory Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen; bDepartment of Medicine, Haraldsplass Hospital, Bergen; cGSF-National Research Center for Environment and Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Neuherberg; dDepartment of Public Health Sciences, King's College London, London; eUniversity of Basel, Basel, and University of Southern California, Los Angeles

Received 17 January 2003; received in revised form 23 March 2003; accepted 4 April 2003.

Abstract 

Background: Whether pet-keeping early in life protects against or promotes allergy remains unclear. Objective: Our aim was to examine the effects of childhood pet-keeping on adult allergic disease in a large international population-based study, including information on sensitization, adult pet-keeping, and pet prevalence in the populations. Methods: We used information from structured interviews (n = 18,530) and specific IgE to common aeroallergens in blood samples (n = 13,932) from participants in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) to analyze the associations between keeping pets and adult asthma and hay fever. Results: Keeping cats in childhood was associated with asthma only among atopic subjects, an association that varied between centers (P = .002) and was stronger where cats where less common (< 40% cats: odds ratiowheeze [ORwheeze] = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.31-2.57; 40%-60% cats: ORwheeze = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.10-1.61; ≥60% cats: ORwheeze = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.73-1.33). Dogs owned in childhood or adulthood were associated with asthma among nonatopic subjects (childhood: ORwheeze = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.13-1.46; adulthood: ORwheeze = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.14-1.51; both: ORwheeze = 1.69, 95% CI = 1.40-2.04). In atopic subjects, those who had owned dogs in childhood had less hay fever (OR = 0.85; 95% CI = 0.73-0.98) and no increased risk of asthma (ORwheeze = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.87-1.17). Respiratory symptoms were more common in subjects who had owned birds during childhood (ORwheeze = 1.12; 95% CI = 1.02-1.23) independent of sensitization. Conclusions: The effects of pet-keeping in childhood varied according to the type of pet, the allergic sensitization of the individual, and the wider environmental exposure to allergen. Cats owned in childhood were associated with more asthma in sensitized adults who grew up in areas with a low community prevalence of cats. Dogs owned in childhood seemed to protect against adult allergic disease but promote nonallergic asthma. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2003;112:289-300.)

Keywords:  Cats, dogs, birds, asthma, hay fever, sensitization, tolerance, hygiene hypothesis, ECRHS

Abbreviations:  ECRHS , European Community Respiratory Health Survey, OR , Odds ratio

 

☆ The coordination of this work was supported by the European Commission. The following grants helped to fund the local studies: Australia: Allen and Hanbury's, Australia. Belgium: Belgian Science Policy Office, National Fund for Scientific Research. France: Ministère de la Santé, Glaxo France, Institut Pneumologique d'Aquitaine, Contrat de Plan Etat-Région Languedoc-Rousillon, CNMATS, CNMRT (90MR/10, 91AF/6), Ministre delegué de la santé, RNSP. Germany: GSF, and the Bundesminister für Forschung und Technologie, Bonn. Greece: The Greek Secretary General of Research and Technology, Fisons, Astra, and Boehringer-Ingelheim. India: Bombay Hospital Trust. Italy: Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica, CNR, Regione Veneto grant RSF n. 381/05.93. New Zealand: Asthma Foundation of New Zealand, Lotteries Grant Board, Health Research Council of New Zealand. Norway: Norwegian Research Council project no. 101422/310. Portugal: Glaxo Farmacêutica Lda, Sandoz Portugesa. Spain: Ministero Sanidad y Consumo FIS grants #91/0016060/00E-05E and #93/0393, and grants from Hospital General de Albacete, Hospital General Juan Ramón Jiménenz, Consejeria de Sanidad Principado de Asturias. Sweden: The Swedish Medical Research Council, the Swedish Heart Lung Foundation, the Swedish Association against Asthma and Allergy. Switzerland: Swiss national Science Foundation grant 4026-28099 and PROSPER 32-48922.96 (NK). United Kingdom: National Asthma Campaign, British Lung Foundation, Department of Health, South Thames Regional Health Authority. United States: United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare Public Health Service grant no. 2 S07 RR05521-28.

☆☆ Reprint requests: Cecilie Svanes, MD, PhD, Department of Medicine, Haraldsplass Hospital, 5009 Bergen, Norway.

PII: S0091-6749(03)01462-3

doi:10.1067/mai.2003.1596

The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Volume 112, Issue 2 , Pages 289-300, August 2003

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