Table 1. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the subjects.
| Variables | All subjects (n=537) | Dog owners | Cat owners | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dog allergy+ (n=103) | Dog allergy− (n=304) | Total (n=407) | Cat allergy+ (n=45) | Cat allergy− (n=85) | Total (n=130) | ||
| Female | 430 (80.1) | 91 (88.3)* | 240 (78.9) | 331 (81.3) | 36 (80.0) | 63 (74.1) | 99 (76.2) |
| Age (year) | 30.6±8.7 | 30.6±8.0 | 31.1±9.6 | 31.0±9.3 | 28.5±4.9 | 29.3±4.9 | 29.0±4.9 |
| Comorbid allergic diseases | |||||||
| Allergic rhinitis | 210 (39.1) | 65 (63.1)‡ | 88 (32.2) | 163 (40.0) | 23 (51.1)† | 24 (28.2) | 47 (36.2) |
| Allergic conjunctivitis | 61 (11.4) | 23 (22.3)‡ | 23 (7.6) | 46 (11.3) | 6 (13.3) | 9 (10.6) | 15 (11.5) |
| Atopic dermatitis | 48 (8.9) | 16 (15.5)* | 23 (7.6) | 39 (9.6) | 3 (6.7) | 6 (7.1) | 9 (6.9) |
| Urticaria | 38 (7.1) | 13 (12.6)* | 16 (5.3) | 29 (7.1) | 1 (2.2) | 8 (9.4) | 9 (6.9) |
| Food allergy | 23 (4.3) | 9 (8.7)* | 10 (3.3) | 19 (4.7) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (4.7) | 4 (3.1) |
| Drug allergy | 18 (3.4) | 5 (4.9) | 8 (2.6) | 13 (3.2) | 0 (0.0) | 5 (5.9) | 5 (3.8) |
| Asthma | 7 (1.3) | 2 (1.9) | 3 (1.0) | 5 (1.2) | 2 (4.4) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (1.5) |
| Family history of allergic diseases | 295 (54.9) | 69 (67.0)† | 155 (51.0) | 224 (55.0) | 23 (51.1) | 48 (56.5) | 71 (54.6) |
| Sensitization to dog and cat allergens | |||||||
| Dog | 83 (15.5) | 40 (38.8)‡ | 25 (8.2) | 65 (16.0) | 13 (28.9)† | 5 (5.9) | 18 (13.8) |
| Cat | 74 (13.8) | 30 (29.1)‡ | 21 (6.9) | 51 (12.5) | 14 (31.1)* | 9 (10.6) | 23 (17.7) |
| Sensitization to other indoor inhalant allergens | |||||||
| Df | 209 (38.9) | 59 (57.3)‡ | 93 (30.6) | 152 (37.3) | 29 (64.4)* | 28 (32.9) | 57 (43.8) |
| Dp | 197 (36.7) | 59 (57.3)‡ | 84 (27.6) | 143 (35.1) | 25 (55.6) | 29 (34.1) | 54 (41.5) |
| American cockroach | 51 (9.5) | 11 (10.7) | 26 (8.6) | 37 (9.1) | 4 (8.9) | 10 (11.8) | 14 (10.8) |
| German cockroach | 38 (7.1) | 7 (6.8) | 17 (5.6) | 24 (5.9) | 5 (11.1) | 9 (10.6) | 14 (10.8) |
| Mold mixture | 23 (4.3) | 15 (14.6)* | 19 (6.3) | 34 (8.4) | 1 (2.2) | 4 (4.7) | 5 (3.8) |
Data are means±standard deviation or frequencies (%).
Df, Dermatophagoides farinae; Dp, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus.
*P<0.05 compared with dog owners without a dog allergy or cat owners without a cat allergy; †P<0.01 compared with dog owners without a dog allergy or cat owners without a cat allergy; ‡P<0.001 compared with dog owners without a dog allergy or cat owners without a cat allergy.