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Association Between Pet Keeping and Current Asthma Among Adolescents Living in Yazd; Evidence from Global Asthma Network (GAN) 2020 Cross-sectional Study.

Authors :
Behniafard N
Modarresi SZ
Nafei Z
Vakili M
Source :
Archives of Iranian medicine [Arch Iran Med] 2023 Dec 01; Vol. 26 (12), pp. 695-700. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Dec 01.
Publication Year :
2023

Abstract

Background: The relationship between current pet keeping and allergic diseases, including bronchial asthma in adolescents, is controversial. This study was conducted to evaluate these associations among children aged 13-14 years in Yazd.<br />Methods: This study is part of a multicenter cross-sectional study of the Global Asthma Network (GAN) in Yazd, Iran, in 2020, in which 5141adolescents enrolled. Information on respiratory symptoms and pet-keeping (dog/cat/birds) was obtained by a questionnaire derived from the GAN standard questionnaire.<br />Results: Of 5141 participants who completed the study, 1800 (35%) children kept pets during the last year. Birds were the most common pet kept by adolescents (88%). Severe asthma was more common in bird and cat keepers ( P =0.003 and P =0.034, respectively) than dog keepers. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant association between study-defined current asthma and cat keeping, but not bird or dog ownership ( P =0.02). Moreover, we found that current any pet-keeping (birds, cats, dogs) was associated with a higher prevalence of asthma-related symptoms, including wheezing, night dry cough, and exercise-induced wheezing in the past year ( P =0.002, P =0.000 and P =0.000 respectively).<br />Conclusion: Current any pet-keeping is associated with asthma-related symptoms. Additionally, cat keeping had a significant association with study-defined current asthma. The current keeping of birds, as the most common pet in our area, or cat keeping increases the risk of severe asthma in adolescents. Therefore, as an important health tip, this needs to be reminded to families by health care providers.<br /> (© 2023 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1735-3947
Volume :
26
Issue :
12
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Archives of Iranian medicine
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
38431950
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.34172/aim.2023.102