Related resources
Full-text held externally
Search for item elsewhere
University researcher(s)
Academic department(s)
Lung function at age 3 years: effect of pet ownership and exposure to indoor allergens.
Lowe L, Woodcock AA, Murray CS, Murray CS, Morris J, Simpson A, Custovic A
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2004;158( 10).
Access to files
Full-text and supplementary files are not available from Manchester eScholar. Full-text is available externally using the following links:
Full-text held externally
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of pet ownership and exposure to indoor allergens on lung function in 3-year-old children.DESIGN: Birth cohort study.SETTING: Community.PARTICIPANTS: Children recruited prenatally and followed prospectively toage 3 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Specific airway resistance (sRaw)(measured with body plethysmograph) at age 3 years; skin-prick tests; dataon cat and dog ownership collected prospectively; allergen levels measuredin dust collected from homes (high exposure defined as mite allergens>2 microg/g in mattress, and dog >10 microg/g and cat >8 microg/gallergens on the living room floor). RESULTS: There was no effect of cator dog ownership at birth or age 3 years on lung function, and noassociation between lung function and mite, dog, or cat allergen exposure.Sensitized children exposed to high levels of sensitizing allergen hadsignificantly poorer lung function (n = 49, sRaw kiloPascal per second[kPa/s]; geometric mean [GM], 1.20; 95% confidence interval [CI],1.13-1.28) than children who were not sensitized and not exposed (n = 114;GM, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.04-1.12); not sensitized, but exposed (n = 282; GM,1.07; 95% CI, 1.05-1.10); or sensitized and not exposed (n = 53; GM, 1.12;95% CI, 1.06-1.18; P = .005). In a multivariate model, independentsignificant associates of lung function were maternal and paternal asthma,and the combination of sensitization and exposure to sensitizing allergen,with significant interaction between them. Lung function was substantiallyworse in sensitized and highly exposed children with both asthmaticparents (GM, 2.23; 95% CI, 1.68-2.97), compared with those with neither(GM, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.04-1.16) or just 1 of these features. CONCLUSIONS:Pet ownership, sensitization without exposure, or exposure innonsensitized individuals have no effect on lung function. However, thecombination of specific sensitization and exposure to sensitizing allergenis associated with significantly poorer lung function in earlylife.
Keyword(s)
Air Pollution, Indoor; Analysis of Variance; Animals; Cats; Child, Preschool; Cohort Studies; Confidence Intervals; Dogs; Dust; Environmental Monitoring; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Immunization; Male; Mites; Prevalence; Probability; Prospective Studies; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Respiratory Function Tests; Respiratory Physiology; Risk Assessment; adverse effects: Allergens; etiology: Bronchial Hyperreactivity; immunology: Airway Resistance