Other than environmental causes, eczema runs in families and is linked to functional faults in the gene that produces filaggrin (FLG), a protective protein in the skin. Having the mutant FLG gene increased the risk of eczema in a baby's first year twofold. Adding exposure to a cat quadrupled that risk, researchers say.
Researchers compared a high-risk group of 379 Danish infants carrying the gene variants with a group of 593 babies from the general population in Manchester. They also found out from parents whether the parents had pet animals like a cat or dog during the gestation period of the mother.
The results indicated that children with FLG mutations in both groups were twice as likely to develop eczema during their first year of life as those without the genetic faults.
The results also suggested that for those with the mutations having a cat - but not a dog - further increased the risk of developing eczema. However, for children without FLG mutations, owning a cat did not make any difference.
Researchers concluded that that filaggrin deficiency weakens the skin's protective barrier and makes a child more vulnerable to cat exposure.
However, more research is needed in this field to establish a viable link. The findings are published in the journal PLoS Medicine.
Eczema is a common problem of infancy and mothers have spent many anguished moments dealing with itching, squirming, unhappy infants with abnormal skin. The problem often appears on the face as patches of reddish, scaling skin.
As eczema worsens, the skin becomes more itchy, red, thickened, and grooved, and may blister, weep, and crack.
