Cats Can Hamper Breathing Even in Non-Allergic

ByABC News
March 24, 2008, 12:27 AM

Mar. 23 -- MONDAY, July 2 (HealthDay News) -- Adults plagued by allergies can be affected by cat dander even if they aren't specifically allergic to felines, a new European study shows.

"Exposure to cats is more of a problem than was thought," said study author, Susan Chinn, a professor of medical statistics at the Imperial College, London.

Chinn, along with colleagues at 20 European centers, expected to find higher bronchial (airway) responsiveness in research subjects who were sensitized to cats.

What they didn't expect to find -- but did -- was a similar increase in airway reaction among subjects who weren't allergic to cats but were sensitive to three other common allergens: dust mites, mold or timothy grass.

"Bronchial responsiveness is a measure of the propensity of the airways to constrict," Chinn explained. "Although it's not synonymous with asthma, it is an indicator of airways [that are] likely to show an asthmatic response," she said.

Consequently, the study found that "cat allergen exposure at moderate levels may be harmful" to all adults with allergies, regardless of what their allergy triggers might be, Chinn said. "The clinical implication is that it is insufficient to test patients with asthma for cat sensitization," she said, since all allergic people "might benefit from reduced cat exposure."

The findings are published in the first July issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Simply having a cat in the house is a good example of moderate exposure, Chinn said, but it's not necessary. That's because even the presence of cats kept by others in the nearby community was enough to leave cat allergens in mattress dust from homes tested by researchers, she said.

Still, the study's findings would have to be replicated before the researchers could make any strong recommendations about cat ownership, Chinn added.

But Dr. Jerry Shier, an allergist and an assistant clinical professor at George Washington University School of Medicine, in Washington, D.C., said that the European study is likely to spur additional research. That may lead allergic patients to lend more weight to their doctor's recommendations against pets -- even if "they aren't yet allergic to animals yet," he said.