|
|
Article: Do pets prevent allergic disease? The evidence of a protective effect is inconsistent.(Point/Counterpoint)
- Article from:
- Skin & Allergy News
- Article date:
- June 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 International Medical News Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Dr. Wright has tried to convince you that the allergy epidemic in the United States is the result of a lack of sufficient cats and dogs. Unfortunately, this flies in direct contradistinction to the evidence.
It's widely believed that asthma and allergic diseases have increased over the past 2-3 decades in the United States. It's also estimated that the number of U.S. households owning a pet dog or cat increased from approximately 30% in 1988 to about 63% in 2005.
That raises a question: If a deficiency of pets in homes is a cause of increased allergies, then how do you explain the paradox that both pets and allergies are apparently increasing at the same ...