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Table 1 Population characteristics and associations with exposure to household pets

From: Exposure to household furry pets influences the gut microbiota of infants at 3–4 months following various birth scenarios

 

Overall

Households with at least 1 furry pet

 

No exposure

Only prenatal

Both pre- and postnatal

P value to compare 3 exposure groups

 

N (%)

746 (100)

N (%)

337 (45.2)

N (%)

60 (8.0)

N (%)

349 (46.8)

Birth mode

 Vaginal, IAP−

375 (50.3)

171 (45.6)

32 (8.5)

172 (45.9)

0.88

 Vaginal, IAP+

176 (23.6)

75 (42.6)

14 (8.0)

87 (49.4)

 Caesarean, scheduled

87 (11.7)

42 (48.3)

4 (4.6)

41 (47.1)

 Caesarean, emergency

108 (14.5)

49 (45.4)

10 (9.3)

49 (45.4)

Study sites

 Edmonton

216 (29.0)

80 (37.0)

19 (8.8)

117 (54.2)

<0.001

 Vancouver

286 (38.3)

158 (55.2)

16 (5.6)

112 (39.2)

 Winnipeg

244 (32.7)

99 (40.6)

25 (10.2)

120 (49.2)

Maternal race

 Caucasian

561 (75.3)

223 (39.8)

49 (8.7)

289 (51.5)

<0.001

 Other

78 (10.5)

38 (48.7)

5 (6.4)

35 (44.9)

 Asian

106 (14.2)

76 (71.7)

6 (5.7)

24 (22.6)

Maternal asthma during pregnancy

 No

675 (90.6)

307 (45.5)

53 (7.9)

315 (46.7)

0.98

 Yes

70 (9.4)

31 (44.3)

6 (8.6)

33 (47.1)

Maternal allergy during pregnancy

 No

271 (36.6)

133 (49.1)

24 (8.9)

114 (42.1)

0.19

 Yes

470 (63.4)

204 (43.4)

36 (7.7)

230 (48.9)

Type of home

 Single (house)

592 (79.4)

251 (42.4)

53 (9.0)

288 (48.6)

0.007

 Multiple (condo/apartment)

154 (20.6)

86 (55.8)

7 (4.5)

61 (39.6)

Size of household < 3

 No

414 (55.5)

190 (45.9)

34 (8.2)

190 (45.9)

0.86

 Yes

332 (44.5)

147 (44.3)

26 (7.8)

159 (47.9)

Changed house (from 18 weeks of pregnancy to 3 months)

 No

683 (91.6)

309 (45.2)

51 (7.5)

323 (47.3)

0.15

 Yes

63 (8.4)

28 (44.4)

9 (14.3)

26 (41.3)

Type of floor

 Not carpeted

360 (48.3)

156 (43.3)

25 (6.9)

179 (49.7)

0.58

 Partially carpeted

235 (31.5)

110 (46.8)

21 (8.9)

104 (44.3)

 Completely carpeted

151 (20.2)

71 (47.0)

14 (9.3)

66 (43.7)

Siblings

 No

379 (52.6)

162 (42.7)

28 (7.4)

189 (49.9)

0.21

 Yes

342 (47.4)

166 (48.5)

28 (8.2)

148 (43.3)

Antibiotic exposure (0–3 months)a

 No

317 (43.8)

142 (44.8)

26 (8.2)

149 (47.0)

0.98

 Yes

407 (56.2)

184 (45.2)

32 (7.9)

191 (46.9)

Breastfeeding status at 3 months

 No

126 (16.9)

46 (36.5)

14 (11.1)

66 (52.4)

0.17

 Partial

229 (30.7)

101 (44.1)

18 (7.9)

110 (48.0)

 Exclusive

391 (52.4)

190 (48.6)

28 (7.2)

173 (44.2)

  1. Comparisons by chi-square test
  2. aAntibiotic exposure of infants = collective consideration of both indirect exposure (maternal IAP) and direct exposure (IV and oral antibiotics)