Exposure to cat allergen, maternal history of asthma, and wheezing in first 5 years of life.
We looked for an association between early exposure to pets and asthma and wheezing in children whose mothers or fathers did or did not have a history of asthma. We followed up 448 children, who had at least one parent with a history of atopy, from birth to 5 years. Among children whose mothers had no history of asthma, exposure to a cat or a Fel d 1 concentration of at least 8 microg/g at the age of 2-3 months was associated with a reduced risk of wheezing between the ages of 1 and 5 years. However, among children whose mothers did have a history of asthma, such exposures were associated with an increased risk of wheezing at or after the age of 3 years. There was no association between wheezing and exposure to dog or dog allergen, and the father's allergy status had no effect on the relation between childhood wheezing and cat exposure.
Celedón
Juan C
JC
Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA. juan.celedon@channing.harvard.edu
Litonjua
Augusto A
AA
Ryan
Louise
L
Platts-Mills
Thomas
T
Weiss
Scott T
ST
Gold
Diane R
DR
D000485:Allergens / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000209:etiology*; D002415:Cats; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012135:Respiratory Sounds; D012307:Risk Factors
D000485:Allergens; D007073:Immunoglobulin E