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Early age of dog exposure is negatively associated with atopic dermatitis: A comprehensive analysis

Pediatric Research volume 98, pages 127–136 (2025)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Currently, whether exposure to pets is a protective factor for atopic dermatitis (AD) is controversial.

Objective

To investigate the association of pet exposure in early life with the incident AD.

Methods

This study was based on PRISMA. The authors independently searched PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE. We gathered cohort studies reporting on the ratio of pet exposure and incident AD and meta-analyzed them by relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) and funnel plot were performed to evaluate the quality of the study and publication bias, respectively. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

We included 23 studies comprising 3174–25,527 participants with exposure age 0–12. The quality of included studies was generally gorgeous, with NOS 5-8. Dog exposure was negatively associated with the incident AD, with RRs of 0.82 (P = 0.002), but this trend was insignificant in cats (RR = 1.08; P = 0.490) and other pets (RR = 0.94; P = 0.550). Subgroup analysis showed participants exposed to dogs had a further lower AD risk in the North American populations (RR = 0.60; P < 0.001). Publication bias was not supported by the funnel plot.

Conclusion

This study finds exposure to dog pets in early life is negatively associated with newly developed AD, especially in North American populations.

Impact

  • Currently, whether exposure to pets is a protective factor for atopic dermatitis (AD) is controversial.

  • This study finds exposure to dog pets in early life is negatively associated with newly developed atopic dermatitis, and this trend is more remarkable in North American populations.

  • Associations of exposure to cats and other pets with atopic dermatitis are not found.

  • These results discover a novel insights to prevention AD and related diseases.

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Fig. 1
Fig. 2: Meta-analysis.
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Data availability

Data is available on request from the authors.

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Acknowledgements

We thanked software Zhiyun 7.7.2. for providing translations during the literature search process.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant/Award Numbers: (82173009; 81974478). National Key Research and Development Program (2022YFC2504700).

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Xiaoyu Gu, Xinquan Wang.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology Hunan Engineering Research Center of Skin Health and Disease Hunan Key Laboratory of Skin Cancer and Psoriasis, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China

    Xiaoyu Gu, Xinquan Wang, Binfa Li, Ying Wang, Wu Zhu & Juan Su

  2. National Engineering Research Center of Personalized Diagnostic and Therapeutic Technology, Changsha, 410008, China

    Xiaoyu Gu, Xinquan Wang, Ying Wang, Wu Zhu & Juan Su

  3. National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders (Xiangya Hospital), Changsha, 410008, China

    Xiaoyu Gu, Xinquan Wang, Ying Wang, Wu Zhu & Juan Su

  4. Furong Laboratory, Changsha, Hunan, 410008, China

    Xiaoyu Gu, Xinquan Wang, Ying Wang, Wu Zhu & Juan Su

Authors
  1. Xiaoyu Gu
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  2. Xinquan Wang
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  3. Binfa Li
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  5. Wu Zhu
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Contributions

X.G. and X.W. drafted the manuscript. X.G., X.W., B.L., and Y.W. analyzed the data. J.S. obtained the funding. J.S. and W.Z., critically revised the manuscript. All authors gave final approval to the version submitted for publication.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Xiaoyu Gu, Wu Zhu or Juan Su.

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Gu, X., Wang, X., Li, B. et al. Early age of dog exposure is negatively associated with atopic dermatitis: A comprehensive analysis. Pediatr Res 98, 127–136 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-025-03864-x

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