Pets, whether cats or dogs, are associated with fewer food allergies in children as young as three, even when exposed to these animals before birth, according to a study published Wednesday.
The research, carried out in Japan and published in the scientific journal Plos One, does not establish a cause-and-effect relationship, but rather an association between the two factors.
The scientists used data from the Japan Study on Children and the Environment, which included 66,215 children, which included information on pet exposure and food allergies, among other things.
In some developed countries, more than one in 10 children is diagnosed with a food allergy, and the incidence continues to rise, scientists say.
The study indicates that around 22% of minors were exposed to pets, mainly dogs and cats indoors during the fetal period.
Among children who had contact with dogs and cats indoors, there was a “significant reduction” in the incidence of food allergies, although no significant difference was seen with children from households with outdoor dogs.
The data indicates that children exposed to indoor dogs “were significantly less likely” to suffer specific allergies to eggs, milk and nuts.
Those who had contact with cats were “significantly less likely” to be allergic to eggs, wheat and soy.
However, and “surprisingly”, in the case of hamsters (0.9% of the total group studied) there was a significantly lower incidence of allergies to nuts.
The authors point out some limitations of the study, such as the fact that the data is not based on allergy tests or other analyzes carried out by them, but rather on those provided by the participants, supplemented by clinical histories.
In addition, this study cannot determine if the relationship between exposure to pets and incidence of food allergies is cause and effect.
Still, the authors suggest that these results may help guide future research into the mechanisms underlying childhood food allergies.
Source: TSF
