Abstract
Background
Exposure to household domestic animals such as cats and dogs in early life may have some role in pathogenesis of asthma. Racial differences exist in the prevalence of asthma. We hypothesized that there may also be racial differences in pet ownership in families with asthma.
Methods
A cross sectional study was conducted from June 2011 to December 2014 on 823 of 850 (97%) families of children with asthma for pet ownership. Comparisons among racial groups were done using chi square analysis and one-way analysis of variance.
Results
The mean age of the cohort was 6.9±4.4 years. A total of 540 (65.62%) patients were Caucasian, 195 (23.7%) African American, 42 (5.1%) hispanics, and 26 (3.2%) biracial with one Caucasian parent. Pets in the home were reported by 470 (58.5%) households. Significantly fewer African American and hispanic families had pets in the home (26.9% and 44.7%) than biracial and Caucasian families (72% and 69.9%, P<0.001). Likewise, significantly more biracial and Caucasian families were noted to have dogs (52% and 54.4%) or cats (25.4% and 40%) or both cats and dogs (28% and 18%) than African Americans families (20.3%, P<0.001; 7.1%, P<0.001) and (4.6%, P<0.001), respectively.
Conclusions
Among families with asthmatic children, pet ownership is significantly more likely in Caucasian families compared with African-American and Hispanic families, thus there is a racial diversity in pet ownership among families of children with asthma.
Similar content being viewed by others
Change history
22 June 2017
In the article by Sheikh SI, et al, ?Racial differences in pet ownership in families of children with asthma? in World Journal of Pediatrics 2016;12(3):343?346 (doi: 10.1007/s12519-016-0027-9), the last author?s name was incorrectly listed as ?Don Hayes?. His name should have read ?Don Hayes Jr?.
References
Chen CM, Tischer C, Schnappinger M, Heinrich J. The role of cats and dogs in asthma and allergy—a systematic review. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2010;213:1–31.
Lødrup Carlsen KC, Roll S, Carlsen KH, Mowinckel P, Wijga AH, Brunekreef B, et al. Does pet ownership in infancy lead to asthma or allergy at school age? Pooled analysis of individual participant data from 11 European birth cohorts. PLoS One 2012;7:e43214.
Remes ST, Castro-Rodriguez JA, Holberg CJ, Martinez FD, Wright AL. Dog exposure in infancy decreases the subsequent risk of frequent wheeze but not atopy. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2001;108:509–515.
Linneberg A, Nielsen NH, Madsen F, Frølund L, Dirksen A, Jørgensen T. Pets in the home and the development of pet allergy in adulthood. The Copenhagen Allergy Study. Allergy 2003;58:21–26.
Torrent M, Sunyer J, Garcia R, Harris J, Iturriaga MV, Puig C, et al. Early-life allergen exposure and atopy, asthma, and wheeze up to 6 years of age. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2007;176:446–453.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vital signs: asthma prevalence, disease characteristics, and self-management education: United States, 2001—2009. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2011;60:547-552.
Dog or cat ownership rates in households by race/ethnicity in the United States in 2011. http://www.statista.com/statistics/250858/dog-or-cat-ownership-rates-of-us-households-by-race-ethnicity/ (accessed January 18, 2016).
Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma (EPR-3). Expert panel report 3: (EPR-3 2007). NIH Publication No. 08-4051.Bethesda, MD: U. S. Department of Health and Human Services; National Institutes of Health; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Asthma Education and Prevention Program, 2007.
Hill TD, Graham LM, Divgi V. Racial disparities in pediatric asthma: a review of the literature. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep 2011;11:85–90.
Chen CM, Morgenstern V, Bischof W, Herbarth O, Borte M, Behrendt H, et al. Dog ownership and contact during childhood and later allergy development. Eur Respir J 2008;31:963–973.
Bufford JD, Reardon CL, Li Z, Roberg KA, DaSilva D, Eggleston PA, et al. Effects of dog ownership in early childhood on immune development and atopic diseases. Clin Exp Allergy 2008;38:1635–1643.
Lodge CJ, Lowe AJ, Gurrin LC, Matheson MC, Balloch A, Axelrad C, et al. Pets at birth do not increase allergic disease in at-risk children. Clin Exp Allergy 2012;42:1377–1385.
Nafstad P, Magnus P, Gaarder PI, Jaakkola JJ. Exposure to pets and atopy-related diseases in the first 4 years of life. Allergy 2001;56:307–312.
Campo P, Kalra HK, Levin L, Reponen T, Olds R, Lummus ZL, et al. Influence of dog ownership and high endotoxin on wheezing and atopy during infancy. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2006;118:1271–1278.
Gern JE, Reardon CL, Hoffjan S, Nicolae D, Li Z, Roberg KA, et al. Effects of dog ownership and genotype on immune development and atopy in infancy. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2004;113:307–314.
Lau S, Illi S, Platts-Mills TA, Riposo D, Nickel R, Grüber C, et al. Longitudinal study on the relationship between cat allergen and endotoxin exposure, sensitization, cat-specific IgG and development of asthma in childhood—report of the German Multicentre Allergy Study (MAS 90). Allergy 2005;60:766–773.
Bornehag CG, Sundell J, Hagerhed L, Janson S; DBH Study Group. Pet-keeping in early childhood and airway, nose and skin symptoms later in life. Allergy 2003;58:939–944.
Naydenov K, Popov T, Mustakov T, Melikov A, Bornehag CG, Sundell J. The association of pet keeping at home with symptoms in airways, nose and skin among Bulgarian children. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2008;19:702–708.
Marx MB, Stallones L, Garrity TF, Johnson JP. Demographics of pet ownership among U.S. adults 21-64 years of age. Anthrozoos 1988;2:33–37.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sheikh, S.I., Pitts, J., Ryan-Wenger, N.A. et al. Racial differences in pet ownership in families of children with asthma. World J Pediatr 12, 343–346 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12519-016-0027-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12519-016-0027-9