Source: Annual Congress 2002 - Epidemiology of asthma, rhinitis and allergy
Disease area: Airway diseases

Abstract

Background: Studies of exposure to pets and risk of asthma have provided conflicting results.
Objective: We conducted a population-based incident case-control study to assess the relation of current and previous pet keeping to the risk of adult-onset asthma. We also investigated if genetic propensity due to parental atopy modifies these relations.
Methods: From the source population of 441,000 inhabitants of a geographically defined area in South Finland, we recruited during a 2.5 year period systematically all new cases of asthma in 21-63 years old adults and randomly selected controls. The clinically diagnosed case series consisted of 521 adults with newly diagnosed asthma and the control series of 932 controls. Information on current and past exposure to hairy pets was collected by a self-administered questionnaire.
Results: In logistic regression analysis, the risk of asthma was lower among subjects with pets during the past 12 months (adjusted odds ratio 0.74, 95% confidence interval 0.57-0.96), but higher among subjects with pets more than 12 months ago (1.39, 1.05-1.84). Parental atopy increased the risk of asthma (1.88, 1,47-2.41), but there was no interaction between parental atopy and pet exposure.
Conclusions: Present results are consistent with the hypothesis that both keeping furry pets and parental atopy increase the risk of developing asthma in adulthood. Parental atopy does not modify the effects of pet exposure. Negative association between current pets and the risk of asthma is consistent with selective avoidance of these pets by symptomatic individuals.

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J. J. K. Jaakkola, N. Jaakkola, R. Piipari, M. S. Jaakkola (Helsinki, Finland; Gothenburg, Sweden). Pets, parental atopy, and asthma in adults. Eur Respir J 2002; 20: Suppl. 38, 799

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