Early Exposure to Dogs May Reduce Risk for Childhood Asthma

THURSDAY, Oct. 2, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Indoor dog allergens may protect young children from developing asthma, according to a study presented at the annual congress of the European Respiratory Society, held from Sept. 27 to Oct. 1 in Amsterdam.

Jacob McCoy, M.D., from the Hospital for Sick Children & Research Institute in Toronto, and colleagues examined the longitudinal relationship between indoor allergen exposure during infancy with subsequent asthma and spirometry and the potential effect modification by genetic factors. The analysis included 1,050 children (mean age, 3.94 months) with dust samples participating in the CHILD study.

The researchers found that 6.6 percent of participants developed asthma by age 5 years. Higher Can f1 (dog allergens) significantly decreased the risk for asthma (odds ratio, 0.52). Those exposed to high versus low Can f1 had significantly higher forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) z-scores (β, 0.23), regardless of asthma status. A significant gene–environment interaction was seen for Can f1 and polygenic scores on FEV1 (β, −0.14). No association was seen for cat allergens.

“Our findings highlight the potential protective role of dog allergens, but we need to do more research to understand the link between early-life exposure to dog allergens, lung function, and asthma during early childhood,” McCoy said in a statement.

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