Respiratory tract illnesses during the first year of life: effect of dog and cat contacts.

نویسندگان

  • Eija Bergroth
  • Sami Remes
  • Juha Pekkanen
  • Timo Kauppila
  • Gisela Büchele
  • Leea Keski-Nisula
چکیده

OBJECTIVES To investigate the effect of dog and cat contacts on the frequency of respiratory symptoms and infections during the first year of life. METHODS In this birth cohort study, 397 children were followed up from pregnancy onward, and the frequency of respiratory symptoms and infections together with information about dog and cat contacts during the first year of life were reported by using weekly diaries and a questionnaire at the age of 1 year. All the children were born in eastern or middle Finland between September 2002 and May 2005. RESULTS In multivariate analysis, children having dogs at home were healthier (ie, had fewer respiratory tract symptoms or infections) than children with no dog contacts (adjusted odds ratio, [aOR]: 1.31; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.13-1.52). Furthermore, children having dog contacts at home had less frequent otitis (aOR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.38-0.81) and tended to need fewer courses of antibiotics (aOR: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.52-0.96) than children without such contacts. In univariate analysis, both the weekly amount of contact with dogs and cats and the average yearly amount of contact were associated with decreased respiratory infectious disease morbidity. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that dog contacts may have a protective effect on respiratory tract infections during the first year of life. Our findings support the theory that during the first year of life, animal contacts are important, possibly leading to better resistance to infectious respiratory illnesses during childhood.

برای دانلود رایگان متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Contact with dogs during the first year of life is associated with decreased risk of respiratory illness.

Context Several groups have studied the associations between animal contacts early in life and asthma and allergic diseases in childhood. Reports on the association between pet exposure and respiratory infection are sparse. Results have been inconsistent, due to retrospective evaluation, study of children of different age groups and having no separate analysis of different pets. Bergroth and co...

متن کامل

Breast feeding and lower respiratory tract illness in the first year of life. Group Health Medical Associates.

OBJECTIVE To assess the relation between breast feeding and subsequent experience of lower respiratory tract illness. DESIGN Prospective (from well child visits) and retrospective (from maternal recall) study of breast feeding and prospective assessment by paediatricians of lower respiratory tract illness in infants during first year of life. SETTING Health maintenance organisation. PARTI...

متن کامل

Day care attendance, respiratory tract illnesses, wheezing, asthma, and total serum IgE level in early childhood.

BACKGROUND It has been hypothesized that day care--related infections may explain the inverse relation between day care attendance in early life and asthma in childhood. OBJECTIVE To examine the relation between day care attendance or respiratory tract illnesses in the first year of life and wheezing and asthma in the first 4 years of life among children with a parental history of atopy who w...

متن کامل

Health care costs of formula-feeding in the first year of life.

OBJECTIVE To determine the excess cost of health care services for three illnesses in formula-fed infants in the first year of life, after adjusting for potential confounders. METHODS Frequency of health service utilization for three illnesses (lower respiratory tract illnesses, otitis media, and gastrointestinal illness) in the first year of life was assessed in relation to duration of exclu...

متن کامل

A Narrative Review of Influenza: A Seasonal and Pandemic Disease

Influenza is an acute respiratory disease caused by the influenza A or B virus. It often occurs in outbreaks and epidemics worldwide, mainly during the winter season. Significant numbers of influenza virus particles are present in the respiratory secretions of infected persons, so infection can be transmitted by sneezing and coughing via large particle droplets. The mean duration of influenza v...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

عنوان ژورنال:
  • Pediatrics

دوره 130 2  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2012