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Having a dog at home may boost the mental health of teenagers, according to a recent study.
The study, led by Dr. Kikusui Takefumi at Azabu University in Japan and published in the iScience journal, found that adolescents who own dogs “have a higher well-being than those who do not.”
The study observed 343 teenagers in Tokyo; 96 were dog owners, and 247 were not. The team found that those who owned dogs at 13 years old had “significantly lower” social problems than those who didn’t.
Beyond the naturally social aspects of dog ownership, such as taking them for walks, a biological factor might also be at play. Dr. Takefumi says the microbiome of a child is different if they own a dog, but researchers are not sure why. It could be because bacteria from dogs enter kids’ microbiomes, or because living with dogs changes children’s gastrointestinal environment due to changes in their psychological condition, according Kikusui.
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“In addition, social withdrawal, thought problems, delinquent behavior, and aggressive behavior scores among dog-owning adolescents were lower than those among non-dog-owning adolescents,” the team wrote.
The study also found that those who owned a dog during adolescence and as they grew older “scored higher on measures of companionship and social support.”
The study acknowledged adolescence as a crucial period of brain development, with social interactions and the maturation of the prefrontal cortex having lasting mental effects. Researchers also referenced earlier reports of dogs positively affecting their owners’ well-being while acknowledging that some “previous studies on this subject have reported conflicting results.”
Takefumi explored whether dog ownership could affect sociability by exposing mice to the oral microbiomes found in the dog-owning group, then assessed their social behaviors. The study found that the dog-owning group of mice spent more time sniffing other mice and approaching trapped cagemates.
“Although it is not possible to directly compare human and mouse behavior, these results suggest that the microbiota is partly responsible for the improvement in adolescents’ social behavior after living with dogs,” the team wrote.
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A study in July found that dogs and cats have a “protective factor” that can “slow down cognitive decline.”
Dog and cat owners saw improved brain health, more than those who had birds or fish, or no pets, according to a study published in Scientific Reports that used 18 years of data on cognitive decline in adults over 50.
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“Both cat and dog owners experienced slower decline in multiple cognitive domains — dog owners in immediate and delayed recall, cat owners in verbal fluency and delayed recall,” the study found. “Fish and bird ownership had no significant association with cognitive decline.”
