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Furry Pets (furry + pet)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Medical Sciences62%

Selected Abstracts

Do allergic families avoid keeping furry pets?

INDOOR AIR, Issue 3 2010
R. J. Bertelsen
Abstract, Studies addressing the relationship between pet keeping and development of asthma and allergies may be influenced by pet avoidance in families with a history of allergic disease. Following a cohort of 1019 children in Oslo till 10 years of age, we studied the association of pet keeping with socio-economic factors and allergic disease in the family. A family history of asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis was not significantly associated with pet ownership at birth or with pet removal by 10 years. Acquiring cats and dogs was less likely if the child had allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, whereas no association was seen with asthma (in any family member). Single parenthood increased the likelihood of acquiring a cat, smoking parents more often had cats or dogs, and having older siblings was associated with keeping dogs and other furry pets. Among 319 families reporting pet avoidance, 70% never had pets, 8% had given up pets, and 22% avoided a particular type of pet only. Twenty-four per cent of the parents failed to retrospectively report pet keeping during the child's first year of life. Overall, allergic rhinitis, but not asthma was associated with actual pet avoidance, whereas the strongest predictors for keeping pets were found to be socio-economic factors. Practical Implications Allergic disease in a child most often does not lead to the removal of the family's furry pet. Pet avoidance is associated with allergic symptoms, but not asthma. Socio-economic factors like parental education, single parenthood and smoking affects the families' decisions on pet keeping, including the type of pets the families will avoid or acquire. The large recall error demonstrated points to the need for prospective data regarding pet keeping. [source]

Exposure to furry pets and the risk of asthma and allergic rhinitis: a meta-analysis

ALLERGY, Issue 7 2008
B. Takkouche
Background:, Exposure to pets has been implicated as a risk factor for asthma. However, this relation has been difficult to assess in individual studies because of the large potential of selection bias. We sought to examine the association between exposure to furry pets and asthma and allergic rhinitis by means of a meta-analysis. Methods:, We retrieved studies published in any language by searching systematically Medline (1966,March 2007), Embase, LILACS and ISI Proceedings computerized databases, and by examining manually the references of the original articles and reviews retrieved. We included cohort and case,control studies reporting relative risk estimates and confidence intervals of exposure to cats, dogs and unspecified furry animals and subsequent asthma and allergic rhinitis. We excluded cross-sectional studies and those studies that did not measure exposure but rather sensitization to pets. Results:, Thirty-two studies were included. For asthma, the pooled relative risk related to dog exposure was 1.14 (95% CI 1.01,1.29), that related to exposure to any furry pet was 1.39 (95% CI 1.00,1.95). Among cohort studies, exposure to cats yielded a relative risk of 0.72 (95% CI 0.55,0.93). For rhinitis, the pooled relative risk of exposure to any furry pet was 0.79 (95% CI 0.68,0.93). Conclusions:, Exposure to cats exerts a slight preventive effect on asthma, an effect that is more pronounced in cohort studies. On the contrary, exposure to dogs increases slightly the risk of asthma. Exposure to furry pets of undermined type is not conclusive. More studies with exact measurement of exposure are needed to elucidate the role of pet exposures in atopic diseases. [source]

Do allergic families avoid keeping furry pets?

INDOOR AIR, Issue 3 2010
R. J. Bertelsen
Abstract, Studies addressing the relationship between pet keeping and development of asthma and allergies may be influenced by pet avoidance in families with a history of allergic disease. Following a cohort of 1019 children in Oslo till 10 years of age, we studied the association of pet keeping with socio-economic factors and allergic disease in the family. A family history of asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis was not significantly associated with pet ownership at birth or with pet removal by 10 years. Acquiring cats and dogs was less likely if the child had allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, whereas no association was seen with asthma (in any family member). Single parenthood increased the likelihood of acquiring a cat, smoking parents more often had cats or dogs, and having older siblings was associated with keeping dogs and other furry pets. Among 319 families reporting pet avoidance, 70% never had pets, 8% had given up pets, and 22% avoided a particular type of pet only. Twenty-four per cent of the parents failed to retrospectively report pet keeping during the child's first year of life. Overall, allergic rhinitis, but not asthma was associated with actual pet avoidance, whereas the strongest predictors for keeping pets were found to be socio-economic factors. Practical Implications Allergic disease in a child most often does not lead to the removal of the family's furry pet. Pet avoidance is associated with allergic symptoms, but not asthma. Socio-economic factors like parental education, single parenthood and smoking affects the families' decisions on pet keeping, including the type of pets the families will avoid or acquire. The large recall error demonstrated points to the need for prospective data regarding pet keeping. [source]

Re: Exposure to furry pets and the risk of asthma and allergic rhinitis: a meta-analysis

ALLERGY, Issue 3 2009
CM Chen
No abstract is available for this article. [source]

Exposure to furry pets and the risk of asthma and allergic rhinitis: a meta-analysis

ALLERGY, Issue 7 2008
B. Takkouche
Background:, Exposure to pets has been implicated as a risk factor for asthma. However, this relation has been difficult to assess in individual studies because of the large potential of selection bias. We sought to examine the association between exposure to furry pets and asthma and allergic rhinitis by means of a meta-analysis. Methods:, We retrieved studies published in any language by searching systematically Medline (1966,March 2007), Embase, LILACS and ISI Proceedings computerized databases, and by examining manually the references of the original articles and reviews retrieved. We included cohort and case,control studies reporting relative risk estimates and confidence intervals of exposure to cats, dogs and unspecified furry animals and subsequent asthma and allergic rhinitis. We excluded cross-sectional studies and those studies that did not measure exposure but rather sensitization to pets. Results:, Thirty-two studies were included. For asthma, the pooled relative risk related to dog exposure was 1.14 (95% CI 1.01,1.29), that related to exposure to any furry pet was 1.39 (95% CI 1.00,1.95). Among cohort studies, exposure to cats yielded a relative risk of 0.72 (95% CI 0.55,0.93). For rhinitis, the pooled relative risk of exposure to any furry pet was 0.79 (95% CI 0.68,0.93). Conclusions:, Exposure to cats exerts a slight preventive effect on asthma, an effect that is more pronounced in cohort studies. On the contrary, exposure to dogs increases slightly the risk of asthma. Exposure to furry pets of undermined type is not conclusive. More studies with exact measurement of exposure are needed to elucidate the role of pet exposures in atopic diseases. [source]

What's new in atopic eczema?

CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL DERMATOLOGY, Issue 3 2010
2008., An analysis of systematic reviews published in 200
Summary This review summarizes clinically important findings from systematic reviews indexed in bibliographical databases between August 2007 and August 2008 that dealt with disease prevention (six reviews) and treatment of atopic eczema (seven reviews). Regarding disease prevention, two independent systematic reviews found some clinical trial evidence that ingestion of probiotics by mothers during pregnancy might reduce the incidence of subsequent eczema. Another review failed to find any clear benefit of prebiotics in eczema prevention. Although furry pets are often cited as causing allergic disease, a systematic review of observational studies found no evidence that exposure to cats or dogs at birth increases eczema risk. One very large review of studies of breastfeeding found some evidence of a protective effect on eczema risk, although all the studies were limited by their observational nature. A German group has attempted an overview of eczema prevention studies with a view to informing national guidelines. In terms of eczema treatment, two systematic reviews have confirmed the efficacy of topical tacrolimus ointment. Another review of 31 trials confirms the efficacy of topical pimecrolimus, although many of those trials were vehicle controlled, which limits their clinical utility. A review of 23 studies of desensitization therapy for allergic diseases found some evidence of benefit for eczema, which needs to be explored further. Despite the popularity of antistaphylococcal therapies for eczema, a Cochrane Review of 21 trials failed to show any clear benefit for any of the therapies for infected or clinically noninfected eczema. Another Cochrane Review dealt with dietary exclusions for people with eczema and found little evidence to support any dietary exclusion, apart from avoidance of eggs in infants with suspected egg allergy supported by evidence of sensitization. A review of 13 studies of probiotics for treating established eczema did not show convincing evidence of a clinically worthwhile benefit, an observation that has been substantiated in a subsequent Cochrane Review. [source]