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Abstract
BackgroundAn inverse association between early contact with microbial compounds and respiratory allergies is well established. The protective effect of infant contact with animals was also shown for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We aimed to test the association between animal contact in infancy and oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (OA JIA).MethodsParents of children with OA JIA registered at the Hospital for Pediatric Rheumatology in Garmisch-Partenkirchen were asked to complete a questionnaire. Children who underwent strabismus surgery at six referral centers for ophthalmology served as controls. Children age 6 to 18 years born in Germany without malformations were included (238 cases; response 89% and 832 controls; response 86%). Data were analyzed using logistic regression models after adjusting for potential confounders.ResultsNeither place of living (urban vs. rural area), living on a farm, nor regular farm animal (adjusted odds ratio 0.79; 95% confidence interval 0.42-1.47) or pet contact (0.79; 0.55-1.14) during infancy were clearly related to case status. Allergic rhinitis was inversely related to OA JIA (0.57; 0.34-0.95).Neither place of living (urban vs. rural area), living on a farm, nor regular farm animal (adjusted odds ratio 0.79; 95% confidence interval 0.42-1.47) or pet contact (0.79; 0.55-1.14) during infancy were related to case status. Allergic rhinitis was inversely related to OA JIA (0.57; 0.34-0.95).ConclusionsContact with farm environments in infancy might not be associated with OA JIA. This finding is consistent with previous findings for diabetes mellitus type 1 but contradicts results for IBD and SLE.
Highlights
An inverse association between early contact with microbial compounds and respiratory allergies is well established
Contact with farm environments in infancy might not be associated with oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (OA Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA))
This finding is consistent with previous findings for diabetes mellitus type 1 but contradicts results for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
Summary
An inverse association between early contact with microbial compounds and respiratory allergies is well established. We aimed to test the association between animal contact in infancy and oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (OA JIA). Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a severe chronic disease in childhood and adolescence frequently leading to handicap, decreased quality of live and high costs [1]. Some of the environmental risk factors for JIA are similar to those described for respiratory allergies (i.e., allergic rhinitis, atopic asthma), e.g. maternal smoking during pregnancy [5], having no siblings, having more affluent parents, living in Northern Europe [6,7,8]. A positive association between JIA and respiratory allergies has been found in some studies [9,10] while others have described an inverse [11,12,13] or no association [14]
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