Associations of early-life pet ownership with asthma and allergic sensitization: A meta-analysis of more than 77,000 children from the EU Child Cohort Network

Studies examining associations of early-life cat and dog ownership with childhood asthma have reported inconsistent results. Several factors could explain these inconsistencies, including type of pet, timing, and degree of exposure. Our aim was to study associations of early-life cat and dog ownership with asthma in school-aged children, including the role of type (cat vs dog), timing (never, prenatal, or early childhood), and degree of ownership (number of pets owned), and the role of allergic sensitization.

Citation:
Pinot de Moira A, Strandberg-Larsen K, …….. Foong RE, Haakma S, Harris JR, Huang R-C, et al. Associations of early-life pet ownership with asthma and allergic sensitization: A meta-analysis of more than 77,000 children from the EU Child Cohort Network. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2022.

Keywords:
Cat; FAIR (findable; accessible; allergic sensitization; and reusable); asthma; birth cohort; children; dog; exposure; interoperable; life course epidemiology; meta-analysis; ownership

Abstract:
Studies examining associations of early-life cat and dog ownership with childhood asthma have reported inconsistent results. Several factors could explain these inconsistencies, including type of pet, timing, and degree of exposure. Our aim was to study associations of early-life cat and dog ownership with asthma in school-aged children, including the role of type (cat vs dog), timing (never, prenatal, or early childhood), and degree of ownership (number of pets owned), and the role of allergic sensitization.