Prevalence of rhinitis, pillow type and past and present ownership of furred pets

Background There has been no previous work investigating the effects of fur red pet ownership and pillow type on the risk of developing rhinitis. Recen tly, unexpected and unexplained associations of asthma with nonfeather pill ows have been reported. Objective We developed a questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey to dete rmine whether the past or present ownership of cats or dogs, or the use of nonfeather pillows contributes to the development of seasonal or perennial rhinitis. Methods We surveyed 2555 accompanying friends and relatives of patients att ending the outpatients departments at one London hospital in 1996. Individu als with rhinitis were defined as those suffering with three or more sympto ms of rhinitis either throughout the year (perennial) or for part of the ye ar (seasonal). Present or childhood ownership of cats or dogs was recorded. Results A strong association was seen with nonfeather pillow use and both s easonal [odds ratio (OR) 1.85; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.43-2.5] and p erennial (OR 2.63; CI 1.67-5.0) rhinitis. However, more than one-third of r hinitics had changed their pillow type. After restricting the data to exclu de subjects who changed their pillow to avoid allergies, the strong associa tion of nonfeather pillow use with perennial rhinitis remained (OR 2.44; CI 1.25-5.0). Adjusting the data to the extreme situation where all former pi llow type was feather changes the apparent risk to 0.99 (CI 0.67-1.43). No associations for either seasonal or perennial rhinitis were seen for feathe r pillows. A weak association of current dog ownership is demonstrated for seasonal rhinitis (OR 1.47; CI 1.01-2.14). No associations were seen for ch ildhood dog ownership or cat ownership at any time with either type of rhin itis. Conclusions Feather pillow use and the ownership of furred pets appears unl ikely to increase the risk of developing perennial or seasonal rhinitis. In fact, in contrast with currently held views, there is evidence that the us e of nonfeather pillows may increase the risk.