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Hond zorgt voor gezonde baby*
Uit een Finse studie onder een kleine 400 kinderen die vanaf de geboorte in hun eerste levensjaar gevolgd werden blijkt dat hebben van een huisdier goed is voor de gezondheid van de baby. Vooral het hebben van een hond en in duidelijk mindere mate een kat blijkt baby’s te beschermen tegen ademhalingsproblemen en infecties waardoor ze ook vaak minder antibiotica nodig hebben. Volgens de onderzoekers doen het vuil en allergenen van de huisdieren zorgen voor een versterking van het immuunsysteem van de baby.
Respiratory Tract Illnesses During the First Year of Life: Effect of Dog and Cat Contacts
1. Eija Bergroth, MDa, 2. Sami Remes, MD, PhDa, 3. Juha Pekkanen, MD, PhDb,c, 4. Timo Kauppila, MScb, 5. Gisela Büchele, PhDd, and 6. Leea Keski-Nisula, MD, PhDb,e
+ Author Affiliations
1. Departments of aPediatrics and 
2. eObstetrics and Gynecology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland; 
3. bDepartment of Environmental Health, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Kuopio, Finland; 
4. cInstitute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland; and 
5. dInstitute of Epidemiology and Medical Biometry, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany 
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of dog and cat contacts on the frequency of respiratory symptoms and infections during the first year of life. 
METHODS: In this birth cohort study, 397 children were followed up from pregnancy onward, and the frequency of respiratory symptoms and infections together with information about dog and cat contacts during the first year of life were reported by using weekly diaries and a questionnaire at the age of 1 year. All the children were born in eastern or middle Finland between September 2002 and May 2005. 
RESULTS: In multivariate analysis, children having dogs at home were healthier (ie, had fewer respiratory tract symptoms or infections) than children with no dog contacts (adjusted odds ratio, [aOR]: 1.31; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.13–1.52). Furthermore, children having dog contacts at home had less frequent otitis (aOR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.38–0.81) and tended to need fewer courses of antibiotics (aOR: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.52–0.96) than children without such contacts. In univariate analysis, both the weekly amount of contact with dogs and cats and the average yearly amount of contact were associated with decreased respiratory infectious disease morbidity. 
CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that dog contacts may have a protective effect on respiratory tract infections during the first year of life. Our findings support the theory that during the first year of life, animal contacts are important, possibly leading to better resistance to infectious respiratory illnesses during childhood. 
De volledige studie.
(Juli 2012) 

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