In the study, published in Clinical & Experimental Allergy, researchers looked at the association between lifetime dog and cat exposure and allergic sensitization in a group of 566 boys and girls from Detroit who were followed from birth until age 18.
The participants’ families completed annual surveys with information about indoor pets (animals who spent at least 50% of their time inside) and were tested at age 18 for allergic sensitization to dogs and cats.
Researchers found that being exposed dogs or cats at home during the first year of life was the most important factor in the reduced risk of allergic sensitization to that specific animal later in life compared to those that did not have an indoor pet in the first year. Exposure at other times during childhood did not have any significant protective effect.
For example, the results showed that boys who had an indoor dog during the first year of life were half as likely to become sensitized to dogs by age 18 than those who did not have an indoor dog in the first year of life.
Overall, those who had a pet indoor cat as infants were 48% less likely to be sensitized to cats than those who didn’t.
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