SAN DIEGO — Newborns who come home to a family cat may be at greater risk of developing eczema by their first birthday, according to an ongoing, prospective birth cohort study presented at the International Conference of the American Thoracic Society.
Dr. Esmeralda Morales reported 28% of 134 infants with household cats developed eczema by 1 year of age. The skin condition appeared in only 18% of 286 infants raised without cats. The difference was statistically significant with an odds ratio of 1.75 that early exposure to cats would lead to eczema. The effect was stronger for babies whose mothers did not have asthma.
Dr. Morales, of the University of Arizona in Tucson, said the finding was a surprise to the researchers. They had hypothesized that early pet exposure would be associated with less risk of wheeze, eczema, and rhinitis apart from colds.
Dogs fared better in the analysis from the Infant Immune Study. More families had dogs: 341 had fewer than two indoor dogs, and 80 had two or more.
Infants exposed to two or more indoor dogs from birth were significantly less likely to develop wheeze by age 1 year (OR 0.53). If the family kept any dog indoors, the risk of rhinitis at 1 year also was significantly less (OR 0.50). There was no significant effect of indoor dog ownership on eczema.
The investigators plan to do a longitudinal analysis to determine whether the infants that develop eczema also are more likely to develop allergic conditions such as asthma and hay fever.
The difference was statistically significant with an OR of 1.75 that early exposure to cats would lead to eczema. DR. MORALES
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