Asthma chances reduced by dogs

Having a dog in the family reduces a child’s risk of asthma by 15%, and contact with farm animals can halve it, a large study in Sweden has shown.

The findings lend strong support to the “hygiene hypothesis” that suggests living in too-clean conditions early in life can increase susceptibility to allergy conditions such as asthma.

Scientists analysed data on more than 1m children born between 2001 and 2010 in Sweden, where dog and farm animal ownership has to be registered by law.