In utero exposure to pets is associated with asthma and wheezing in Mexican American children

Abstract

Objective: To examine the associations of in utero and early life exposure to cats/dogs and birds with the risk of lifetime doctor-diagnosed asthma and other respiratory conditions in a sample of Mexican American (MA) children 4–18 years of age. Methods: This study is a population-based cross-sectional investigation of 1816 MA children. We conducted multiple logistic models examining the relationship of asthma and wheezing with exposures to cats/dogs and birds in utero, infancy and at the time of the survey adjusted for country of birth, family history of asthma/allergies, antibiotics use in infancy and other covariates. Results: In adjusted analyses, in utero exposure to cats/dogs and birds jointly was associated with increased odds of asthma (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 2.89; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.34–6.23), ever wheezing (aOR: 1.96; 95% CI: 1.11–3.46) and current exercise-induced wheezing (aOR: 3.16; 95% CI: 1.27–7.85) compared to children not exposed to these pets in utero. Children who were exposed to both cats/dogs and birds in utero had an elevated, albeit statistically non-significant, odds of current wheezing. Exposures in infancy and at the time of the survey to cats/dogs and birds were not associated with asthma or wheezing. Conclusions: In utero exposure to pets might be associated with an increased risk of asthma and respiratory conditions in a sample of non-affluent MA children.

• Asthma
• birds
• cats/dogs
• children
• Mexican Americans
• pets
• pregnancy
• wheezing

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this paper. This study was supported by the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Provost’s Award for Graduate Research. Time for data analysis and manuscript preparation is supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar Program (Grant # 71249).