Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Feb;158(2):265-71.e1-5.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2010.07.026.

Opposing effects of cat and dog ownership and allergic sensitization on eczema in an atopic birth cohort

Tolly G Epstein  1 , David I Bernstein, Linda Levin, Gurjit K Khurana Hershey, Patrick H Ryan, Tiina Reponen, Manuel Villareal, James E Lockey, Grace K Lemasters
Affiliations

Opposing effects of cat and dog ownership and allergic sensitization on eczema in an atopic birth cohort

Tolly G Epstein et al. J Pediatr. 2011 Feb.

Abstract

Objective: To examine risk factors for eczema at age 4 years.

Study design: Beginning at 1 year of age, infants of atopic parents (n = 636) had annual clinical evaluations and skin prick tests (SPTs) to 15 aeroallergens and milk and egg. Parents completed validated surveys on eczema and environmental exposures. House dust samples were evaluated for allergens and endotoxin. Eczema was defined as a parental report of scratching, and redness, "raised bumps," or dry skin/scaling for 6 of the last 12 months.

Results: At age 4 years, a total of 90 children (14%) had eczema. Not having a dog before 1 year of age and being dog SPT+ at 1, 2, or 3 years of age conferred a 4-fold higher risk for eczema at age 4 years (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 3.9 [1.6-9.2]; P = .002). Among dog owners, however, dog SPT+ was not associated with significantly increased risk (aOR 1.3 [0.3-6.8]; P = .8). Among children with cats before 1 year of age, cat SPT+ conferred significantly increased risk for eczema (aOR = 13.3 [3.1-57.9]; P < .001). Among non-cat owners, cat SPT+ was not associated with increased risk (aOR = 1.1 [0.5-2.7]; P = .8).

Conclusion: Dog ownership significantly reduced the risk for eczema at age 4 years among dog-sensitized children, cat ownership combined with cat sensitization significantly increased the risk.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Relationship between Dog Ownership (prior to age 1 year), SPT to Dog (ages 1, 2, and/or 3 years), and Eczema (age 4 years) (p=0.002). Dark bars represent dog SPT positive, and hollow bars represent dog SPT negative.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Relationship between Cat Ownership (prior to age 1 year), SPT to Cat (ages 1, 2, and/or 3 years), and Eczema (age 4 years) (p<0.001). Dark bars represent cat SPT positive, and hollow bars represent cat SPT negative.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Asher MI, Montefort S, Bjorksten B, et al. Worldwide time trends in the prevalence of symptoms of asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and eczema in childhood: ISAAC Phases One and Three repeat multicountry cross-sectional surveys. Lancet. 2006;368:733–43. - PubMed
    1. Williams H, Flohr C. How epidemiology has challenged 3 prevailing concepts about atopic dermatitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2006;118:209–13. - PubMed
    1. Palmer CN, Irvine AD, Terron-Kwiatkowski A, et al. Common loss-of-function variants of the epidermal barrier protein filaggrin are a major predisposing factor for atopic dermatitis. Nat Genet. 2006;38:441–6. - PubMed
    1. Hon KL, Leung TF, Ching G, et al. Patterns of food and aeroallergen sensitization in childhood eczema. Acta Paediatr. 2008;97:1734–7. - PubMed
    1. Grabbe J, Zuberbier T, Wagenpfeil S, Czarnetzki BM. Skin prick tests to common allergens in adult atopic eczema and rhinitis patients: reproducibility on duplicate and repeated testing. Dermatology. 1993;186:113–7. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms