Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have found a crucial association between exposure to pet dogs and human mental health; however, the findings were somewhat puzzling.
Several studies have found that having a pet dog could improve your mental health and reduce the risk of psychological issues. However, a new study has found that early exposure to pet dogs could significantly reduce the risk of schizophrenia later in life.
According to the World Health Organization, schizophrenia is one of the top 10 most disabling conditions. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this debilitating mental health issue, with poor prognosis.
Dr. Robert Yolken of the Pediatric Neurovirology division at the John Hopkins Children’s Center and his colleagues conducted several studies and found an association between serious mental health disorders and exposure to environmental factors in early life that may have some effect on the immune system.
The new study found a promising association between exposure to pet dogs and later risk of schizophrenia. The researchers found that people who were exposed to a pet dog before their 13th birthday were significantly less likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia later in life.
Dr. Yolken said, “I believe that these researchers were as startled by the size of the effect as I was, and it is clear that they have only a tentative set of hypotheses to explain the results.”
He suggested, “There are several plausible explanations for this possible protective effect from contact with dogs—perhaps something in the canine microbiome that gets passed to humans and bolsters the immune system against or subdues a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia.” The new study’s best guess is that pet dogs transfer some materials to growing kids by licking them. And these substances could challenge the children’s developing immune system, making it grow stronger. This eventually could reduce the risk of schizophrenia later in life.
