Background: Veterinary medicine students who practice with animals are potentially exposed to many occupational agents, yet sensitisation and allergic symptoms among this group have not been studied extensively.
Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of sensitisation and allergic symptoms in veterinary medicine students in association with study specialisation over time.
Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted. Blood was collected and tested for total and specific serum IgE for 16 different common and study-specific allergens using enzyme immunoassay.
Results: New development of self-reported allergic symptoms to various allergens occurred in 8.7%, of which 44% was deducted against animals. Handling farm animals was strongly associated with self-reported allergies to various allergens (OR=6.9, 95% CI 1.9 to 25) and animal allergens (OR=12, 95% CI 1.4 to 103). Sensitisation to at least one allergen occurred in 33.1%. Sensitisation prevalence tended to be elevated in later years of the equine study program. In contrast to self-reported allergies, the prevalence of sensitisation to any allergen decreased with prolonged study duration for those specialising in farm animal health (years 3-5: OR=0.5, 95% CI 0.3 to 1.1; year 6: OR=0.2, 95% CI 0.1 to 0.5). This was independent of whether people were raised on a farm, which is in itself a protective factor for allergy and sensitisation.
Conclusion: This study provides evidence of an elevated prevalence of allergic symptoms with increasing years of veterinary study, suggesting that contact with animals, more specifically contact to farm animals, is a risk factor for the development of symptoms.