A surprising study suggests that contact with a pet would limit the risk of food allergies in children.
The benefits of a pet are many for the children who grow up with them. In addition to teaching them responsibility, our 4-legged friends help reduce children’s stress and encourage them to exert themselves.
Contact with animals has also been shown to protect children from certain diseases. This is particularly the case of Crohn’s disease for children living with a dog. But growing up with a dog or a cat would have another unusual virtue on the health of the youngest.
This is what emerges froma Japanese study published in the specialized journal PLOS One. The researchers studied the links between contact with an animal and the development of food allergies in children. And the conclusions are surprising.
A decrease in cases of food allergies observed in young owners of dogs or cats
For this atypical study, the researchers looked at the medical records of thousands of Japanese children. A total of 66,215 cases were studied. The scientists analyzed the medical problems of the children but also their family environment. When analyzing food allergies, the researchers noticed that they were less common in children who had pets.
The most amazing thing is that depending on the animal in the house, the protection against food allergies varied. For example, the researchers explain that children who grew up with a dog suffered less from allergies to eggs, milk and oilseeds. But it would be the cat that would provide the best protection to children.
According to the results of the study, growing up with a cat would protect children from egg allergies but also from wheat and soy allergies. Even more astonishing: the preventive effect of animals on the health of children would develop from pregnancy.
Increased risks in case of contact with rodents
However, all animals do not have the same impact on the development or not of food allergies. While dogs and cats are the most common pets, children can grow up surrounded by rabbits, hamsters, birds or even reptiles.
But the study suggests that some animals increase the risk of food allergies. This is for example the case of rodents. The children concerned would have higher risk of developing oilseed allergies (seeds, dried fruits, nuts, etc.).
However, researchers are still unable to explain how animals act as an anti-allergy barrier in children.