ABSTRACT
Introduction: Among allergic patients, pet avoidance is commonly recommended. It is difficult for patients to accomplish this because of their emotional attachment to the pets, and its effectiveness is controversial. Objective: To explore the applicability and effectiveness of pet avoidance measures among sensitized patients. Materials and methods: We evaluated 288 patients with asthma, rhinitis, conjunctivitis and/or dermatitis using skin prick test to measure their sensitization to cats, dogs and other animals to which they were exposed. Exposure to animals was evaluated in each patient (pets at home, frequent indirect exposure or no exposure). In those patients sensitized to animals some avoidance measures, such as removing pets from home and preventing indirect exposure, were recommended. On the following two appointments, we evaluated patients' fulfillment of these recommendations. Results: Sensitization to cats, dogs and birds was high (9%, 48%, 14%, respectively), as well as direct and indirect exposure (30%, 46%, 24%, respectively). Most patients denied contact with other animals (horses, hamsters, rabbits or cows), and sensitization to them was low. During the follow-up of patients sensitized to their pets at home (n=50), most of them refused to remove them from their house due to emotional attachment, and only two followed this recommendation. Conclusions: High exposure to animals could explain the frequency of sensitization to pets in this population. However, emotional attachment and prevalent indirect exposure to animals among sensitized patients make avoidance recommendations impractical or impossible to achieve.
Introducción. Entre los pacientes alérgicos se recomienda comúnmente la evitación de mascotas; sin embargo, es difícil que los pacientes cumplan con esta recomendación debido al apego emocional y, además, su efecto clínico no es claro. Objetivo. Explorar la aplicabilidad de las medidas de evitación entre pacientes sensibilizados a mascotas . Materiales y métodos. En 284 pacientes con asma, rinitis, conjuntivitis y dermatitis, se evaluó la sensibilización a gatos, perros y otros animales mediante pruebas de punción epidérmica. Se evaluó, igualmente, el nivel de exposición a animales (mascotas en la casa y exposición indirecta frecuente). A aquellos pacientes sensibilizados a los animales, se les recomendaron medidas de evitación como retirar la mascota de la casa y evitar la exposición indirecta. En las dos citas médicas siguientes se evaluó el cumplimiento de estas recomendaciones. Resultados. La sensibilización a gatos, perros y aves fue alta (9, 48, y 14 %, respectivamente), al igual que la exposición directa o indirecta a estos animales (30, 46, 24 %, respectivamente). La mayoría de los pacientes negó el contacto frecuente con otros animales (caballos, hámsteres, conejos, vacas) y la sensibilización a estos fue baja. La mayoría de los pacientes sensibilizados a su propia mascota (n= 50) se rehusó a retirar la mascota de la casa y solo dos de ellos siguieron la recomendación de hacerlo. Conclusiones. La exposición frecuente a los animales podría explicar la gran frecuencia de sensibilización a las mascotas en esta población. Sin embargo, el apego emocional y la exposición indirecta frecuente, hacen que las recomendaciones de evitación sean imprácticas o casi imposibles de lograr.
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Animals , Cats , Child , Child, Preschool , Dogs , Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Middle Aged , Young Adult , Patient Compliance , Pets , Hypersensitivity/prevention & control , Asthma/etiology , Asthma/prevention & control , Species Specificity , Birds/immunology , Skin Tests , Allergens/immunology , Rhinitis/etiology , Rhinitis/prevention & control , Prospective Studies , Dermatitis, Atopic/etiology , Dermatitis, Atopic/prevention & control , Emotions , Environmental Exposure , Pets/immunology , Hypersensitivity/etiologyABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and the prevalence of wheeze using nation-wide cross-sectional study in Korean children. Total 50,200 children from 427 elementary schools were randomly selected according to residential areas (metropolitan, provincial, rural, and industrial areas) by the cluster sampling method. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaires were used to measure the prevalence of wheeze. Among 31,026 respondents, 25,322 were analyzed. BMI was classified into quartiles based on BMI-for-age percentile. In all residential areas, pets at home and visible mold or moisture were associated with an increased prevalence of wheeze in both genders. However, other living environment factors were not consistently associated among residential areas and gender. Among girls, lowest BMI was negatively associated with prevalence of wheeze and highest BMI was positively associated in all residential areas. In multilevel logistic regression analysis, environmental tobacco smoking exposure, pets at home, visible mold or moisture, and being in the lowest and highest BMI quartile were significantly associated with the prevalence of wheeze in both genders. BMI has become an important risk factor for asthma symptoms among Korean children.