People Raised with a Pet Dog Have a Lower Risk of Developing Schizophrenia

People exposed to a pet dog at birth and during the first three years of their lives have a lower risk of developing schizophrenia, according to a study which appeared in PLoS One.

In this study, researchers sought to investigate the relationship between exposure to a household pet cat or dog during the first 12 years of life and having a subsequent diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. They assessed 396 individuals with schizophrenia, 381 with bipolar disorder, and 594 controls. The population of interest were individuals with schizophrenia as current diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

The researchers identified socio-demographic factors such as race/ethnicity via participants’ self-reporting. The individuals could identify as White, African American, Asian, Hispanic, or other. Subsequently, the participants were queried on whether they had a pet dog and/or cat in their lifetime, and if so, when was the first and most recent time they had said pet. Any individuals who reported having a household pet at birth were considered exposed to that pet since birth. The researchers used Cox proportional hazard models and multi-variable regression to analyze the data.

According to the results of the study, exposure to a household pet dog was correlated with a notably decreased risk of having a schizophrenia diagnosis (HR= .75, p < .002) Moreover,  the researchers observed a significantly reduced relative risk of schizophrenia following exposure at birth and during the first years of life. However, the study found no significant relationship between household exposure to a pet dog and bipolar disorder, nor any association between exposure to a household pet cat and subsequent risk of either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. If this encourages you to get a pet dog, you may visit sites like AmericanListed to choose from their puppies for sale.

Study suggests early-life exposure to #dogs may lessen risk of developing #schizophrenia @PLOSONE https://t.co/Nd0WcFwMRI

— Medical Xpress (@medical_xpress) December 18, 2019

“In our study population, exposure to a household pet dog at birth and during the first three years of life is associated with a significantly decreased hazard and relative risk of a subsequent diagnosis of schizophrenia,” the study authors wrote in conclusion. Keep your dogs safe with quality flea and tick pills for dogs.

“Trends in associations between childhood household exposure to a pet cat and relative risks of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were also detected. These associations may be due to socio-demographic, neuro-immune, or other biological factors or combinations of factors. An understanding of the mechanisms underlying these associations could provide insights into the role of environmental exposures as risk factors for these disorders and inform appropriate interventions.”

Study suggests early-life exposure to dogs may lessen risk of developing schizophrenia https://t.co/8sCfcCDd7K via @medical_xpress #kahnchronicle

— Joel "Heart Prevention" Kahn MD, FACC (@drjkahn) December 19, 2019

Study Suggests Early-Life Exposure to Dogs May Lessen Risk of Developing Schizophrenia. Findings suggests that peop https://t.co/dtcIuQM1xY pic.twitter.com/48Dznj12ft

— Education News (@Edjumicated) December 19, 2019