Pets may reduce child's risk of developing food allergies, study finds
BOSTON - Having pets in the home before birth and during early infancy may reduce a child's risk of developing food allergies, and the type of pet may make a difference.
Researchers in Japan studied data on more than 97,000 mothers and their children and found that exposure to dogs or cats during fetal development and in early infancy was associated with a 13-16% lower risk of food allergies at least until age three.
For dogs, the risk was reduced for allergies to egg, milk, and nuts.
For cats, it was egg, wheat, and soybean. Having turtles or birds did not seem to make a difference and hamster exposure was linked to a higher risk of nut allergies, perhaps due to the nuts hamsters eat.
