Mice May Bring on Wheezing in Some Kids

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children of parents with a history of asthma or allergies appear to be at greater risk of asthma if they're exposed to mouse allergens in the first year of life, Boston-based researchers report.

Dr. Wanda Phipatanakul of Harvard Medical School told Reuters Health that early exposure to mice "may be a risk factor for wheeze in early life, which could be a risk factor for asthma or other allergic diseases."

Exposure to mice is "highly prevalent" among city-dwelling asthmatic children, the authors note in their report in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. They examined ties between exposure to mice and wheeze in the first year of life in an ongoing study of 498 children with a parental history of asthma and allergies.

Independently of other factors, mouse exposure was associated with wheeze. Specifically, children whose parents reported exposure to mice in the home had nearly twice the odds of wheeze before their first birthday as did children with no exposure to mice in the home.

Although Phipatanakul commented that further study is needed, she concluded, "I would recommend possibly trying to decrease mouse exposure in early life."

SOURCE: Annals of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, May 2005.