"Writing in the journal iScience, Kikusui and colleagues report how they analysed survey results from 343 mentally and physically healthy adolescents who participated in the Tokyo Teenager Cohort Study, of whom 96 were dog owners. The team found teenagers who owned dogs at 13 years old had significantly lower scores for social problems, social withdrawal, thought problems, delinquent behaviour and aggressive behaviour by the age of 14 than those who did not own dogs."
"The researchers then analysed the microbes found in the teenagers' saliva, finding that while there were many similarities, 12 types of bacteria including Streptococcus and Prevotella were significantly less abundant in the saliva of non-dog owners. The team transplanted the microbes from the saliva of the teenagers to mice with no microbes of their own. The results revealed mice with microbes from dog-owning teenagers showed more sniffing of unfamiliar mice and approaches towards trapped cage-mates."
Having a dog in the home can boost teenagers' mental health by reducing stress, stimulating oxytocin release, and through microbial sharing. Teenagers who owned dogs at 13 showed significantly lower scores at 14 for social problems, social withdrawal, thought problems, delinquent behaviour and aggressive behaviour compared with non-owners. Twelve bacterial types, including Streptococcus and Prevotella, were significantly less abundant in the saliva of non-dog owners. Transplanting teenagers' saliva microbes into germ-free mice increased sniffing of unfamiliar mice and approaches to trapped cage-mates, indicating greater empathetic concern. Certain gut bacterial abundances correlated with differences in social behaviour.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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