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Keeping cats in the first year
of life can help children.
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Parents are sometimes wary of keeping
pets when they have a new baby. But a study suggests that
children who are exposed to two or more cats and dogs in
their first year of life have a reduced risk of allergy.The
research also indicates it could lead to boys having a
better lung function.
The research, carried out by scientists at the Medical College
of Georgia in Augusta and the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit,
Michigan looked at 473 children - 241 girls and 232 boys - some
of whom had pets up to about seven-years-old.
It tested atopy - allergic reaction, lung function, and bronchial
function each year. |
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| A questionnaire
when the children were one-year-old detailed whether or not
they had pets. Concentrations of dust mite allergens in bedrooms
were measured at two years of age. The children received
skin tests to common allergens including cat, dog and dust
when they were between six and seven years old. They were
also tested for lung and chest functions. |
It was
found those children who had been exposed to pets had half
the number of positive skin tests to all the allergens compared
to those who had not. The researchers said that the link
was still true when results were adjusted for gender, birth
order, parental asthma and smoking and dust mite allergen
levels.
In boys only, it was found that having two or more pets was linked
to lower levels of immunoglobulin E, which is linked to hypersensitivity
reactions, and better lung function.
The research was presented to the American Thoracic Society. Dr Warren
Lenney, a consultant respiratory paediatrician at North Staffordshire
Royal Infirmary, and a member of the British Thoracic Society's external
relations board, told BBC News Online the thinking in the past had
been to get rid of cats and dogs because they could be a health hazard.
He said: "It very much depends on whether dogs and cats have
been there for years or whether it's a new acquisition. "But
they are still very bad news if you are an asthmatic to acquire a
dog not having had one before." But he said he found it "difficult
to understand" why boys had different results than girls.
A spokeswoman for the Cats Protection said: "These findings
are good news for cats who are all too often seen as the cause of
allergic reactions in children rather than a risk reduction factor."
Sunday,
27 May, 2001 BBC News |
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