Validity of the interview on pets kept at home for predicting the actual domestic expsoure to their specific allergens. Krakow inner city area study

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The aim of the study was to describe the exposure to dog (Can f 1) and cat (Fel d 1) allergens within homes of very young children living with and without pets, and to assess the validity of the interview on pets for predicting the actual exposure to pet allergens in house dust. House dust samples were collected in 275 dwellings from the mattresses, children’s bedroom and kitchen floors. In the laboratory, dust samples were analyzed for Can f 1 and Fel d 1 using monoclonal antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). The majority of households (79.3%) had neither a dog nor a cat living in the home over the past 6 months preceding the survey. Dog allergen above 2 μg/g dust were found in 22.5% of homes and 14.2% of homes contained dog allergen above 10 μg/g of house dust. In the total study sample, cat allergen above 1 μg/g of dust were found in 12.7% of homes, and 3.3% of homes contained Fel d 1 levels greater than 8 μg/g of dust. The majority of children (75.0%) with reported ownership of dogs were exposed to Can f 1 levels above 2 μg/g of house dust, and 73.1% of children with cats at home were exposed to Fel d 1 concentrations above 1 μg/g house dust. The results of the study showed that post-test probability of the true exposure to Can f 1 above 2 μg/g dust in houses with positive interview on indoor dogs was 75.0% (95%CI: 61.7–84.8%). On the other hand, the prediction of exposure estimated from the interview data on indoor dogs produced 12.6% of false negatives (95% CI: 9.9–15.8%). Similarly, the post-test probability of the true exposure to Fel d 1 above 1 μg/g dust in houses with positive interview on indoor cats was 73.1% (95%CI: 55.1–85.7%). On the other hand, the interview data produced 6.4% false negatives (95% CI: 4.6–9.0%). In conclusion, the study demonstrated that homes in Poland with pet ownership are important reservoir of Can f 1 and Fel d 1 allergens with levels that might induce allergic symptoms. Even in homes of children without a dog or cat indoors, there was a higher prevalence of pet allergens at the levels above allergic sensitisation thresholds. This may have an important implication for epidemiologic studies on pet related allergy and prevention practice.</jats:p>

Cat (Fel d 1) and dog (Can f 1) allergen levels in cars, dwellings and schools

“…Households with pets constitute a significant site of exposure to cat and dog allergens. Similarly to other studies (Ingram et al 1995 ; Raunio et al 1998 ; Fahlbusch et al 2002 ; Arbes et al 2004 ; Jedrychowski et al 2008 ; Nicholas et al 2008 ; Park et al 2014 ), detectable levels of Fel d 1 and Can f 1 were found in almost all homes without pet, but allergen concentrations were significantly lower than in dwellings with pet ownership. Moreover, concentrations of Fel d 1 and Can f 1 were correlated with the number of cats and dogs kept at home.…”

“…Similar differences in concentration of allergens, depending on the pet ownership and keeping conditions were observed by other authors (Parvaneh et al 1999 ; Nicholas et al 2010 ). Distribution of Fel d 1 and Can f 1 can indicate preferred places of pets staying within the house (Jedrychowski et al 2008 ). As could be expected, the highest concentrations of cat and dog allergens we observed in dust taken from dens of pets.…”

“…As could be expected, the highest concentrations of cat and dog allergens we observed in dust taken from dens of pets. Literature data show that high levels of pet allergens are often found in beds, upholstered furnishing and carpets (Chew et al 1999 ; Berger et al 2005 ; Jedrychowski et al 2008 ; Brunetto et al 2009 ; Kozajda et al 2013 ). In our study, the upholstered furniture was the most frequent place of high exposure to cat allergen and the floor to dog allergen.…”

“…The literature data focused on environmental exposure to pet allergens are very limited, in Poland. Up to the moment, studies were carried out only in homes (Jedrychowski et al 2008 ; Waradzyńska et al 2012 ; Kozajda et al 2013 ) and kindergartens (Cyprowski et al 2013 ). Depending on the presence of pets, three different environments were chosen for our study.…”