Ever since humans domesticated the dog, the faithful, obedient and protective animal has provided its owner with companionship and emotional well-being.
Now, in a new study, researchers found that being around “man’s best friend” from an early age may have a health benefit as well—lessening the chance of developing schizophrenia as an adult.
The research was conducted by a team from Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Currently, there are 94 million pet cats and 90 million pet dogs in the United States.
Previous studies have identified early life exposures to pet cats and dogs as environmental factors that may alter the immune system through various means, including allergic responses, contact with zoonotic (animal) bacteria and viruses, changes in a home’s microbiome, and pet-induced stress reduction effects on human brain chemistry.
Serious psychiatric disorders have been linked to alterations in the immune system linked to environmental exposures in early life.
Some studies suspect that the “immune modulation” from owning home pets may alter the risk of developing psychiatric disorders to which a person is genetically or otherwise predisposed.
In the study, the team examined the link between exposure to a household pet cat or dog during the first 12 years of life and a later diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
They looked at a population of 1,371 men and women between the ages of 18 and 65 that consisted of 396 people with schizophrenia, 381 with bipolar disorder and 594 healthy controls.
For schizophrenia, the researchers were surprised to see a strong decrease in the risk of a person developing the disorder if exposed to a dog early in life.
There was no strong link between dogs and bipolar disorder, or between cats and either psychiatric disorder.
The researchers caution that more studies are needed to confirm these findings, to search for the factors behind any strongly supported links.
The lead author of the study is Robert Yolken, M.D., chair of the Stanley Division of Pediatric Neurovirology.
The study is published in PLOS ONE.
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