A Reason to Welcome Pets: They can be Your Immunity Shot

Highlights:

Children who grew up with a pet were less likely to experience food allergies
Around 10%of children suffer from an allergy of some sort, experts say
The hygiene hypothesis plays an important role in building up allergies

If you need another incentive to have a pet at home, scientists believe that having a family pet can prevent childhood food allergies.

As one of the famous quotes reads, "the best therapists have fur and four legs," and these furry pooches have added another fur to their caps. Yes, now it has been proven that these puppies of yours can be the best immunity shot for your kids.

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Japanese researchers discovered that children who were raised with a pet were 15% less likely to develop a food allergy. Merely being around a mother while she is pregnant can reduce the incidence of food allergies, as the advantages begin in the womb.

Individuals who grew up with dogs were less likely to be allergic to eggs, milk, and almonds, but cats lowered the incidence of egg, wheat, and soybean allergies in children.

With one in every ten young infants suffering from food allergies, and the number of cases increasing, experts believe they have devised a fresh solution.

The findings follow a pioneering British study that demonstrated that introducing youngsters to peanuts between the ages of four and six months can lower their chances of having a peanut allergy by 80% ().

“Continued dog and cat exposure from fetal development to infancy were projected to lessen the incidence risk of food allergies,” stated lead investigator Dr. Hisao Okabe of Fukushima Medical University in Japan.

The findings that were published are based on a study of over 65,000 Japanese infants who were followed until they were three years old.

The prevalence of food allergies was determined based on a doctor's diagnosis provided by the parent.

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The Argument on the Hygiene Hypothesis

“The hygiene hypothesis argues that pet exposure is efficient in preventing allergic disease, and several studies have demonstrated the protective benefits of dog exposure on food allergy during fetal development or early infancy,” said Dr. Okabe.

“The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of exposure to various species of pets on the risk of food allergies.”

The 'hygiene hypothesis' is the main idea underlying the growth of allergies ().

Many of the world's living conditions may be too clean. Germs teach immune systems to distinguish between the safe and hazardous stimuli.

While the prevalence of hay fever and eczema has plateaued or reduced, hospital admissions for acute food reactions, for example, have climbed dramatically.

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Puppy exposure may help to alleviate food allergies by enhancing the microbiome. Prior research has shown that it boosts beneficial bacteria, making youngsters less sensitive.

“Our findings minimize concerns about developing allergic disorders caused by having dogs and cats,” stated Dr. Okabe.

“Reducing the prevalence of food allergies will considerably reduce childhood anaphylaxis mortality.”

Almost 22% of the participants had been exposed to pets during their prenatal period, most commonly dogs and cats.

Food allergies were much lower in children exposed indoors, but there was no significant difference in children in houses with outdoor dogs.

Surprisingly, children exposed to hamsters (less than 1% of the whole cohort) had significantly higher rates of nut allergies.

The data were self-reported, with medical record data acquired during the first trimester of pregnancy, during delivery, and at the one-month check-up supplementing it.

The findings, according to the researchers, can help direct future studies into the mechanisms underlying childhood food allergies.

“The incidence of food allergies in children has skyrocketed over the last few decades, reaching more than 10% in developed countries,” said Dr. Okabe.

"Food allergy is a disorder that lowers patients' and their families' quality of life imposes a considerable medical expense burden, and is a major trigger of anaphylaxis, which can be fatal ()."

As a result, preventing its occurrence is a top priority. The hygiene hypothesis first stated in 1989 and later substantiated by multiple epidemiological studies, proposes that early-life contact with pets or older siblings gives an immunological benefit to human health. It has been proposed that pet exposure can help reduce allergy disorders.

So, what are you waiting for? Adopt a pet dog today and have a dogmatic experience.

References:

IgE allergy diagnostics and other relevant tests in allergy, a World Allergy Organization position paper - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32128023/)
The 'hygiene hypothesis' for autoimmune and allergic diseases: an update - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20415844/)
Epidemiology and Burden of Food Allergy - (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32067114/)

Source-Medindia

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