The researchers' findings, presented at the ongoing annual meeting, showed that the children of mothers who spend a minimum of one hour a day with pet dogs during pregnancy are significantly less likely to suffer from allergic eczema, a group of diseases which results in the inflammation of the skin.
"We found that a mother's exposure to dogs before the birth of a child is significantly associated with lower risk of eczema by age 2 years, but this protective effect goes down by age 10," said allergist Dr. Edward M. Zoratti, co-author of the study.
"Among urban children with asthma who were allergic to dogs, spending time with a dog might be associated with two different effects," Dr. Po-Yang Tsou, the study's lead author, explained. "There seems to be a protective effect on asthma of non-allergen dog-associated exposure, and a harmful effect of allergen exposure." The study concludes that factors other than dog allergens, such as bacteria or other unknown factors, may provide for the protective effect.
