Pet ownership: its effect on allergy and respiratory symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that pets are very important sensitizing agents in patients with asthma. Respiratory disorders such as asthma and allergic rhinitis are common in the State of Qatar.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to determine whether exposure to pets and domestic animals plays a significant role in the development of asthma and allergic rhinitis among Qatari population.

DESIGN: A hospital-based prospective descriptive study conducted.

SETTING: Allergy Laboratory at the Hamad General Hospital and Hamad Medical Corporation, State of Qatar.

PATIENTS: Adult patients over 12 years of age diagnosed with bronchial asthma and/or allergic rhintis who were referred for allergy skin prick test. 1106 adult patients recruited with respiratory diseases of suspected allergic origin who attended Allergy Clinic at the Hamad General Hospital, during three years from January 2001 to April 2003. Total of 1106 whom 607 were females (54.9 %) and 499 were males (45.1%) and their mean was age 30 years (12-48).

METHODS: Skin Prick Test (SPT) was performed on 1106 patients for common allergens whom the blood sample was taken for measuring total IgE concentration.

RESULTS: There were 1106 patients studied and 496 patients (44.9%) had positive and 610 (55.1%) had negative skin prick tests. Out of 1106 patients, 311 patients (28.1%) had asthma; 503 patients had allergic rhinitis (45.5%) and 87 patients (7.8%) had skin allerg. Three hundred and forty (340/1106=30.7%) of the 1006 subjects studied had at least one animal at home, and the remaining 69.3% had never had pets in the home. A further 12% reported having had pets in the past, but not anymore. Cats (26.7%), goats (15%) and birds (14.7%), animals were the most common present within the house and was the most frequently seen pet types when compared to other pet types. The risk of having asthma (RR: 1.29; 95% CI: 1.07-1.55; p=0.008), allergic rhinitis (RR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.24-1.77; p<0.0001) and eczema (RR: 3.56; 95% CI:1.24-1.77; p<0.0001) was significantly higher in subjects with animals than in patients without.

CONCLUSION: In the present study, the prevalence of asthma, rhinitis, and skin allergy was significantly more common in families with animals than in those without.