Objective: We conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate the associations between domestic pets and respiratory health in children.
Methods: We randomly recruited 11,611 school children from Zhongshan, a southern city in China. Information about the respiratory symptoms and disease history of the recruited children, the status of domestic pets, and other related risk factors were collected from March to July 2016.
Results: We identified cat-keeping at home increases the risk of persistent cough (OR, 1.77; 95%CI, 1.03-3.05); poultry-keeping at home increases the risk of current asthma (OR, 3.87; 95%CI, 1.08-13.92) and allergic rhinitis (OR, 1.84; 95%CI, 1.01-3.37); sleeping with pets increases the risk of persistent phlegm (OR, 5.04; 95%CI, 1.05-24.28), doctor-diagnosed asthma (OR, 3.35; 95%CI, 1.31-8.57) and current asthma (OR, 4.94; 95%CI, 1.05-23.31) in children.
Conclusions: Cat-keeping and molds on the wall of the house had the multiplicative and additive interaction in doctor-diagnosed asthma. In conclusion, pet-keeping increased the risk of respiratory symptoms in children.
Keywords: Asthma; China; children; interaction; molds; pets.