Pet theory

A new study bolsters the case for keeping animals as a way to avoid allergies--a conclusion regarded as counterintuitive until recent years. The study, conducted jointly in Sweden and the United States and published in the October 2003 issue of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, found that children who are continuously exposed to cats or dogs in fact developed fewer allergies than new pet owners or than children who had only been exposed early in life.

Eighty percent of children who developed cat allergies had never kept a cat at home. Presented at a March 2003 meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the findings support another conclusion: Exposure to a dog in the first year of life seems to strengthen an infant's immune system. In that study, only 19 percent of babies exposed to dogs developed allergies later in life, compared to 33 percent who had no canine contact. The effect of exposure to dogs that practice yoga has yet to be determined.

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