Children who live with pets when they are infants are less likely to develop allergies and other diseases later in childhood, a Swedish study found.
The study sought to learn about the possible benefits of germ exposure to infants living with pets in their home.
For the study, the researchers from the University of Gothenburg included 1,029 children who were either seven or eight years old.
In the first experiment, findings, published on the open access site, 'PLOS ONE', the researchers found that the incidence of allergies (which in this study included asthma, eczema, hay fever and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis) was 49 per cent for children who had not been exposed to pets as infants.
The number fell to 43 per cent for children who had lived with a single pet as an infant and to 24 per cent for children who had lived with three pets.
In another experiment, which included 249 children, it showed that the allergy rate for children growing up without a pet was 48 per cent, 35 per cent for children with one pet and just 21 per cent for children who had grown up with multiple pets.
Taken together, the two data sets showed that the more exposure infants have to pets, the less likely they are to develop allergies later in life, the team concluded.
Catch up on all the latest <a title="mid-day news" href="https://www.mid-day.com/news" target="_blank">Crime, National, International and Hatke news</a> here. Also, download the new mid-day <a title="mid-day android app " href="https://goo.gl/8Xlcvr" target="_blank">Android</a> and <a title="mid-day iOS app" href="https://goo.gl/KQziH4" target="_blank">iOS</a> apps to get latest updates
<div id=":74.co" class="JL">
<div id=":74.co" class="JL" style="text-align: justify;">This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Except for the change in the headline, the story has been provided "AS-IS," "AS AVAILABLE, without any verification or editing from our side. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.</div>
</div>

Virat Kohli's chronic back agony: what could be the cause?

The study sought to learn about the possible benefits of germ exposure to infants living with pets in their home

Exposure to pets during infancy reduce allergies later in life: Study

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

Home / Lifestyle / Health & Fitness / Article / Exposure to pets during infancy reduce allergies later in life: Study

Exposure to pets during infancy reduce allergies later in life: Study

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast