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To the Editor: Dr Ownby and colleagues¹ found that dog ownership (especially multiple dogs) seems to protect against childhood atopy and asthma. The authors acknowledge the strong role that possible genetic influences have on the development of pediatric allergy and took precautions against confounding their results by parental factors. Nonetheless, it is still possible that their findings could be explained by the decision of allergic parents to shun pet ownership for their homes and children. It would also account for the unexpected protective effect of owning more than 1 dog.

Ownby et al adjusted the proportions of pet ownership for the presence of parental asthma, but not for parental allergy. Although atopic status was identified for both mothers and fathers, the authors did not correct for this powerful (and more prevalent) clinical confounder.

Gary N. Greenberg, MD, MPH; Sveta Mohanan, MD
Department of Community and Family Medicine
Duke University Medical . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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