(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Allergy patients may want to reduce their exposure
to cats, even if they're not allergic to the felines.
Researchers from the United Kingdom were surprised to find increased exposure to
cat allergen was associated with greater bronchial responsiveness (BR) in
allergy patients even if they were not specifically allergic to cats.
"We presupposed that we would find increased responsiveness only in those
individuals who were exposed to cat allergen and whose blood tests showed that
they were allergic to cats," lead author Susan Chinn, D.Sc., Imperial College of
London, was quoted as saying. "But our study suggests that all allergic
individuals have signs of asthmatic responses if exposed to cat allergen, even
if blood tests show that they are not allergic to cats."
The study looked at data from 1,884 participants in the European Community
Respiratory Health Survey follow-up. The information included IgE sensitization
to four major allergens -- cat, house dust mite, a common mold known as
Cladosporidium, and timothy grass.
Results show among people with any sensitization, the difference in BR between
those who had low versus high exposure to cat allergen was almost as big a
difference as that between non-asthmatic and asthmatic patients.
Based on their findings, researchers say many people could benefit from reduced
cat ownership and exposure. But they stress because the results were unexpected
it is important to replicate them in other studies before they make firm
recommendations.
SOURCE: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine,
2007;176:20-26
