Cats and dogs in the home may reduce the risk of food poisoning allergy in children, according to a new study, but there are several variables that need to be studied further, allergists emphasize.

Researchers at the Fukushima School of Medicine analyzed data from thousands of children born in Japan between 2011 and 2014, looking at the statistical association of having pets with childhood food allergies.

Hisao Okabe and colleagues they were targeted at families who had pets before and immediately after the birth of a child, and to food allergies, manifested in children of the first three years of life. The researchers published the results in the scientific journal Plos One.

Of the 66,000 cases they reviewed, 22% were born into a family with a pet and were therefore exposed to pet-related microbes and potential allergens.

Children raised in a home with a dog developed allergies associated with eggs, milk and nuts, the research team found. at a rate lower than the average for the general population. Those juveniles who grew up with cats seem to have a more tolerant body to eggs, wheat and soy.

Children whose parents had turtles did not appear to be affected by cohabitation at all, while children raised in a home with hamsters had higher than average levels of nut allergy.

However, the picture is still unclear. “A potentially important observation is that both prenatal and postnatal exposure are needed for the observed effects to occur. Neither was enough on its own,” the Economist comments in its tribute. “Perhaps the time before birth is critical because it is believed that this is the time when most of the baby’s intestinal flora develops.”

“asterisks”

There are variables that cause ambiguity. The researchers note that households with pets are more likely to live in rural areas. other sources of factors that stimulate the immune system. And like Dr. Thomas Marsh, pediatric allergist at King’s College London. Allergy-prone families are less likely to have pets. These facts, and not the presence of companion animals, may explain, at least in part, the results of the study.

Further research will be needed to confirm or refute the latest Japanese research.

Source: The Economist