title: Pet ownership in the UAE: its effect on allergy and respiratory symptoms.
abstract: The aim of this paper was to study the effect of pets and other domestic animals on bronchial asthma among United Arab Emirates (UAE) schoolchildren aged 6-14 years. A cross-sectional study of 850 schoolchildren living in both urban and rural areas (average age 9.36 +/- 2.11 years, 46.8% boys and 53.2% girls) was conducted using self-administered questionnaires between October 1992 and May 1993. Prevalence rate for asthma, rhinitis, wheeze, cough, and eczema in children from families with and without animals were investigated. A total of 40.7% of families studied were found to keep animals in their homes. Children from families with animals were found to have a significantly higher prevalence rate of respiratory symptoms than those without. The prevalence rate for asthma in children with animals was found to be twice that of children without (RR: 2.03; 95% CI: 1.40-2.95). The risk of having chronic cough (RR: 1.93; 95% CI: 1.21-3.10), breathlessness/chest tightness (RR: 2.53; 95% CI: 1.59-4.02), chronic wheeze (RR: 2.10; 95% CI: 1.20-3.67), allergic rhinitis (RR: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.17-2.00) was significantly higher in children with animals than in children without. Similarly, the risk of having eczema (RR: 2.55; 95%, CI: 1.74-3.75) was significantly higher among children with animals than among those without. Overall, there was a highly statistically significant difference in the prevalence of asthma, wheeze, nocturnal cough, eczema, and rhinitis between children in families with animals and those without (p < 0.0001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, United Arab Emirates University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirate.
authors.forename: Y M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Abdulrazzaq
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bener
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: DeBuse
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003371:Cough / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012120:Respiration Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012135:Respiratory Sounds; D014479:United Arab Emirates