Cat and dust mite sensitivity and tolerance in relation to wheezing among children raised with high exposure to both allergens

Cat ownership is a risk factor for the development of anti-cat IgE but not current wheeze at age 5 years in an inner-city cohort

“…The mean levels of domestic Fel d 1 among cat owners in communities with low cat ownership (eg, NYC, Germany, and Kuwait) have been less than levels of Fel d 1 in cat owners' homes in communities where cat ownership was more common (eg, Virginia, Sweden, and New Zealand). 15,26,27 In the recent European studies in which an increased risk for sensitization with Fel d 1 exposure was observed, few of the homes had Fel d 1 levels as high (>20 μg/g) as the protected group from the study by Platts-Mills et al 7,8 Nonlinear trends of increased risk for sensitization with cat allergen exposure in Germany and NYC (ie, decreasing with the highest exposure; see footnote in Table II) could lend support to this theory but have not been adequately evaluated in these studies because of the low number of highly exposed children. 8 The reason for lower cat allergen levels in the dust of homes with cats in different communities is not clear but could be due to housing characteristics or pet-keeping habits.…”

Are Building-Level Characteristics Associated with Indoor Allergens in the Household?

“…26 In addition, the presence of dust mite, cat, cockroach, and mouse allergen in the home have been found to be related to airway hyperresponsivesness 30 and sensitization to dust mite and cat allergen are related to wheezing. 31 Mouse allergen's contribution to asthma has also been studied, 9,[32][33][34][35] and significantly more asthmatic children have been shown to be allergic to mice (assessed by skin prick) when mouse allergen levels reach a certain cutpoint. 36 In all, increased exposure to allergens, particularly dust mites and cockroaches, is related to an increased risk for the development of asthma.…”

A cross-sectional analysis of pet-specific immunoglobulin E sensitization and allergic symptomatology and household pet keeping in a birth cohort population

“…Erwin et al, in a study conducted in New Zealand, reported that among children who were sensitized, living with a cat was associated with lower prevalence of IgE antibody to cat (28% versus 66%; p Ͻ 0.001) and that these differences did not change even after excluding children whose families had chosen to not keep a cat. 31 When considering the subgroup of 266 families that had their blood drawn at the same clinic visit, neither dog nor cat keeping was associated with the presence or absence of allergy-related symptoms to these pets in any of these family members. The associations were found to persist after adjusting for several demographic variables, including parental education level, household income, marital status, and number of child siblings in the family home.…”

“…It is possible that individuals "outgrew" their symptoms to these pets 30,31 or had less severe pet-related symptoms over time because of longitudinal allergen exposure and the development of immunotolerance. 30 It is also plausible that individuals inaccurately associated allergic symptoms caused by a nonpet source (e.g., cockroach, mold spores, etc.)…”