(12/07) JS

More than half of asthma cases in the US are linked to allergies, with sensitivity to cats responsible for 29% of allergy-related asthmas,
according to new research from the National Institutes of Health.

Allergic sensitivity to cats, confirmed through skin testing, was associated with a threefold increase in asthma risk in the study, conducted using data from the nationally representative health survey, NHANES III.

Cat allergy was the strongest single predictor of asthma risk among the common allergen exposures examined, but sensitivity to white oak and the common outdoor fungus alternaria were also independently associated with asthma risk.

Arbes, S.J. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Sept. 27, 2007, online edition.

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First Published in December 2007

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