Children who are raised in households with dogs during their first year of life may have a lower risk of asthma a few years later, a new study suggests. In the study, the researchers looked at early exposure to dogs and farm animals and the rate of asthma among about 276,000 school-age children in Sweden. Among the school-age kids in the study, those who had been exposed to dogs during their first year of life were 13 percent less likely to have asthma at age 6. The researchers said they don't know for sure what exactly may explain the relationship between early exposure to animals and a reduced risk of asthma."It might be due to a single factor, or more likely, a combination of several factors related to a dog ownership lifestyle or dog owners' attitudes, such as kids' exposure to household dirt and pet dust, time spent outdoors or being physically active,"Fall told LiveScience."As a parent in a dog-and-baby household, it is nearly impossible to keep everything clean, and maybe this is a good thing for your baby's future health." Currently, one of the main hypotheses that aim to explain the link between a lower risk of asthma and early exposure to pets is that"kids in animal environments breathe air that contains more bacteria and bacterial fragments, which actually could lower their risk of asthma,"she said. Previous research on having pets and the risk of asthma in kids has mixed results. For example, the results of a 2001 review of previous studies suggested that exposure to pets was linked to an increased risk of asthma in children. But a 2012 review suggested that exposure to pets, especially dogs, was tied to a decreased risk of asthma and allergies  in childhood. "My take-home message from this study is that parents at this point do not need to worry about keeping their dog when expecting a baby for fear of asthmatic disease,"Fall said."I do want to be clear that this recommendation is valid only for families without a child already having allergies. If they already have a furred-animal-allergic child, we do not recommend them to get a furred pet." According to this hypothesis, being exposed to bacteria early in life is crucial for shaping a healthy immune system, and may play a role in modifying a person's risk of developing asthma and allergies."As to allergies and asthma, it is partially genetic, but studies like this do show us that your environment does play a key role in the development of your immune system, and the development of allergies and asthma,"Parikh told LiveScience. Which of the following will Fall probably agree with?
The link between keeping pets and asthma among kids isn't clear. Parents should take their pet for physical examination regularly. Asthma is still a common and serious disease for most children. Dirt and pet dust in the family are bad for children's health.