Pet dogs can help teens’ mental health
It’s old news that having a dog has many benefits. Playing with a dog can help our brains focus and relax, a family dog ​​can help prevent food allergies in children and even fulfill our primal need to nourish. They may also have some influence on some of the smallest organisms there are: the microbes that live in our bodies. A study published on December 3 in the journal iScience have discovered that the family dog ​​causes changes in our gut microbiome that result in better mental health.
“Raising dogs has beneficial effects, especially for adolescents, and these effects may be mediated through symbiosis with microorganisms,” Dr. Takefumi Kikusui, study co-author and animal behaviorist at Azabu University in Japan, said in a statement.
Inside all of our intestines lives a multitude of natural bacteria and other microorganisms working together, called the gut microbiome. Most of these microorganisms have a symbiotic relationship with us, meaning we both benefit from this relationship. Our bodies provide food and shelter, while helping our bodies in return. The gut microbiome helps our body digest important nutrients, trains our immune system, and can even stimulate the production of important neurotransmitters in our brain. Importantly, these organisms also help control potentially harmful microorganisms.
Some studies have shown that dogs also have significant differences in their gut microbiome, including greater microbial diversity. Kikusui’s team previously found that young people have a dog from a young age, then continue to have dogs later in life and benefit from better levels of social support and companionship.
For this new study, the team examined whether some of the beneficial effects of dogs on adolescent mental health might also be linked to these differences in the microbiome.
“Adolescents who raise dogs show higher mental well-being, and we also found that dog ownership changes the gut microbiota,” Kikusui said. “Since the gut microbiota influences behavior via the gut-brain axis, we conducted this experiment. »
Initially, they found that whether a person owned a dog at age 13 could predict their future mental health and behavior scores. Teens with a dog at home reported fewer social problems than those without a dog.
The team then collected saliva microbiome samples from 247 non-dog-owning adolescents and 96 dog-owning adolescents. After sequencing the microbes, they found similar diversity and species richness between the two groups of adolescents. However, the composition of the microbiome was different among dog owners. According to the team, this means that having a dog in the home could change the abundance of certain oral bacteria, potentially bacteria that could correlate with adolescents’ psychological scores.
To test this psychological hypothesis, the team treated laboratory mice with the microbiota found in adolescent dog owners to see if and how it affected their social behavior. Mice with this new microbiome spent more time sniffing other mice in their cages. These animals also showed a more social approach toward a trapped cage mate – a behavioral test often used to test prosocial behavior in mice.
“The most interesting finding of this study is that bacteria promoting prosociality, or empathy, were found in the microbiomes of adolescents who raise dogs,” Kikusui said. “The implication is that the benefits of dog ownership include feeling safe through interaction, but I think it also has value in its potential to alter the symbiotic microbial community.”
According to the team, more research is needed to rule out how other variables affect the adolescent’s microbiome. For example, poverty can negatively impact gut microbiome diversity, as it can lead to malnutrition and make it difficult to access regular healthcare.
Nonetheless, these findings suggest that a family dog ​​can alter the microbiome in ways that promote prosocial behavior, empathy, and overall mental health. We can thank tens of thousands of years of human-canine coexistence for this special relationship inside and out.
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