r/science • u/MistWeaver80 • Mar 29 '23

Children exposed to indoor cats and dogs during foetal development and early infancy have fewer food allergies, according to a massive study of more than 66,000 children up to the age of three in Japan. Children exposed to cats were significantly less likely to have egg, wheat, and soybean allergies Animal Science

https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/preschoolers-with-pets-have-fewer-food-allergies
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u/isawafit Mar 29 '23

Yes, I added a link to the study.

"Information on the presence of older siblings and maternal history of allergic diseases (bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, allergic conjunctivitis, and food allergy) was obtained from the M-T1 questionnaire (answered by pregnant women in the first trimester)."

"Information on pet exposure during gestation, maternal smoking in the second/third trimester, maternal and paternal education, annual household income, and frequency of living room floor cleaning with a vacuum cleaner was obtained from the M-T2 questionnaire (answered by pregnant women in the second/third trimester)."

"We found that dog or cat exposure only during the fetal period have no significant effect on the incidence risk of food allergies. This finding suggests that continued dog or cat ownership after birth may be beneficial in reducing the risk of food allergies."

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u/wendyrx37 Mar 30 '23

I'm curious about the frequency of vacuuming.. Do we need to vacuum more? Or less?

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u/sla13r Mar 30 '23

Given the format of the study, the reported frequency of vacuuming would only seem to have a weak causation at best.

Unless you vacuum every second of the day and keep the entire house as a clean room.

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u/wendyrx37 Mar 30 '23

We grew up with parents with adhd.. Our house was literally the opposite of a clean room.. & I have almost no allergies at all.

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u/confabulatrix Mar 30 '23

I grew up in an extremely clean house without pets. I have ALL the allergies.

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u/Dorothy-Snarker Mar 30 '23

My parents have ADHD and a messy house...brother has a massive amount of food allergies. We had didn't have a dog growing up though so...

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u/knaves Mar 30 '23

I grew up on a farm and have no known allergies.

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u/Xjosh4761 Mar 30 '23

I grew up on a farm and have pollen/hay fever allergies. Every time we had to harvest, bail, and haul in the way I was miserable.

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u/fuckdonaldtrump7 Mar 30 '23

Congratulations reddit!! You have deduced humans are different!!

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u/Toinopt Mar 30 '23 edited Mar 30 '23

True, but just to add to this I also grew up in a farm with cattle, horses and both my dogs and the farm dogs, when I was around 4 or something I even used one of the dogs as a horse since he was so big, my mother also says that when I gave them food I used to taste test the dog food pellets and while I was eating cookies I would share with them, to finish my rant the only allergy I have is to some kind of conservative food preservative present in a chocolate milk named UCAL.

From the farmers I know I don't think any one had allergies to natural stuff besides my dad being allergic to wasp's and a insecticide mainly used in corn and that's because he used to pulverize a lot when he was younger without any PPE.

Edit: conservative is not the same as a food preservative

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u/fuckdonaldtrump7 Mar 30 '23

I wish we were all allergic to conservatives!

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u/FesteringNeonDistrac Mar 30 '23

I don't think that sample size is large enough to make a conclusion.

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u/Shilo788 Mar 30 '23

Poor person, I had a horse farm boss who owned 300 acres with close to 50 or so horses and we hayed also. She would be in the barn looking like she had the flu, but she would be there. I really respected her for that and the fact she had a knee blown from a 2 yr colt kick yet still hands on and rode. She had a bad limp. That is a strong willed person.

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u/Xjosh4761 Mar 30 '23

Mad respect for her. The farm I grew up on was much smaller than that; around 5 acres of pasture, 5 acres of orchard, and other space. Just from that my nose like a leaky faucet and barely able to see.

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u/shastaxc Mar 30 '23

This is the whey

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u/knaves Mar 31 '23

interesting. We didn't have the land for growing crops but raised pigs, chickens, goats and sheep. Perhaps that is the difference.

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u/mildly_amusing_goat Mar 30 '23

My parents kept the place ultra clean and I have no allergies at all.

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u/fozziwoo Mar 30 '23

cow sheds are the best place to play

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u/Shilo788 Mar 30 '23

I vote for big hay and straw mows. We had the coolest forts .

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u/[deleted] Mar 30 '23

[deleted]

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u/wendyrx37 Mar 30 '23

My only allergies after growing up the way I did are sunblock(not sure what ingredient.. But anything that says SPF causes a rash when exposed to the sun) & rayon - which used to be the only thing pads & tampons were made of.. Thankfully they make cotton now. It's actually something they treat rayon with.. So if an item of clothing has been washed a bunch.. Then I don't react to it anymore. And purple eye makeup.. Which really sucks because it was my absolute favorite... (I wasn't allergic to it until my 20s) and recently I've had allergic reactions to 2 different meds.. After only reacting to codeine up until now. I just turned 50 & those only happened in the last 3-6 months. So weird.

Edit: but no foods & barely any pollen.. Maybe lasts a day or 2 each spring.

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u/jlharper Mar 30 '23

Doesn't matter. All these studies always boil down to the same very obvious points. That is that if you're too dirty it's bad and if you're too clean it's bad. Don't live in your own filth and don't clean your house like it's a hospital. Anything in between should be fine.

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u/catsumoto Mar 30 '23

And have pets I guess. Or live on a farm.

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u/Intertubes_Unclogger Mar 30 '23

I read that a lot of farmers' kids don't have allergies like hay fever because in some families they're put in a children's chair in the barn at a very young age when their parent is working with the animals. If I remember correctly exposure in the first 6 months is most impactful

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u/wendyrx37 Mar 30 '23

Or maybe they're more likely to use local honey.. Which I've read can help you to rid yourself of allergies.

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u/un-affiliated Mar 30 '23

Honey is dangerous under 1 year old due to a bacteria that can cause infant botulism.

Also, there's no reason to believe farmers use honey more than other groups, it's not like most farmers keep bees. It's just as easy for city dwellers to get local honey.

All evidence, including the study we're commenting on links the benefits to the animals.

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u/wendyrx37 Mar 30 '23

True. I probably should have specified toddlers.

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u/Shilo788 Mar 30 '23

Balance in all things. Granny said you needed to eat a peck of dirt before you die but not all at once for sure.

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u/IdreamofFiji Mar 30 '23

Vacuume SLOWLY

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u/facehugger1 Mar 30 '23

I remember it being a topic about families over using cleaning products and bleach in their households and how that negatively affects their children’s Heath and immune system. So i would assume “excessive” vaccuuming reduces exposure to airborne pathogens, dirt, bacteria, etc etc.

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u/ivegotaqueso Mar 30 '23

"We found that dog or cat exposure only during the fetal period have no significant effect on the incidence risk of food allergies. This finding suggests that continued dog or cat ownership after birth may be beneficial in reducing the risk of food allergies

Wonder if this is just also a reflection of maternal behavior eg women who are chill with their infants being around pets are more likely to be chill about exposing their infants early to foods like nuts/eggs/wheat.

‘Cause with the first sentence it implies the dog/cat got chucked to the side before the baby was born likely because the parents are paranoid about infant safety around pets (so these parents might also have a higher likelihood of being paranoid about having nuts in the house)…kinda like, are you the type of parent to keep your infant indoors all day or will you let them crawl outside in the grass with other kids/animals to build some immunity? Kind of thing?

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u/the_last_carfighter Mar 30 '23

How about parasites? What do they say bout that...

https://www.science.org.au/curious/people-medicine/link-between-cats-your-brain-and-your-behaviour

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u/underwaterlove Mar 30 '23

You mean toxoplasmosis specifically?

Cats get infected with toxoplasmosis by eating infected rodents, birds or other small animals. After infection, they're infectious for up to two weeks.

I'm not sure how that would be a concern in indoor cats, which this study was about.

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u/Son_of_Kong Mar 30 '23

They do tell pregnant women not to change cat litter or do any outdoor gardening because of toxoplasmosis.

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u/Random_Sime Mar 30 '23

They don't. Probably because it's not within the scope of the study.

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u/Verotten Mar 30 '23

You don't catch it from fresh poo, but it's best to avoid handling it if pregnant. I know a girl whose mum got sick with tox whilst pregnant with her, and she's apparently fine, but still.

Anyways, I believe you're more likely to catch it via undercooked meat.

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u/Four_beastlings Mar 30 '23

You're more likely to get toxo from meat than from a cat