ArticlePloS one2019
Exposure to household pet cats and dogs in childhood and risk of subsequent diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
Article in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cat Ownership and Schizophrenia-Related Disorders and Psychotic-Like Experiences: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2024Pooled it
- The role of dog keeping in the home microbiota and its impact on children's health.Pediatric allergy and immunology : official publication of the European Society of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology · 2026Article
- Early Exposure to Animals and Childhood Body Mass Index Percentile and Percentage Fat Mass.Child and adolescent obesity (Abingdon, England) · 2022Article
- Pet Ownership and Quality of Life: A Systematic Review of the Literature.Veterinary sciences · 2021Review
- Demographic and contextual factors as moderators of the relationship between pet ownership and health.Health psychology and behavioral medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSerious psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have been associated with environmental exposures in early life. Contact with household pets such as cats and dogs can serve as a source of environmental exposure during these time periods.
methodsWe investigated the relationship between exposure to a household pet cat or dog during the first 12 years of life and having a subsequent diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. These studies were performed in a cohort of 396 individuals with schizophrenia, 381 with bipolar disorder, and 594 controls. The hazards of developing schizophrenia or bipolar disorder associated with first exposure to a household pet cat or dog were calculated using Cox Proportional Hazard and multivariate logistic regression models including socio-demographic covariates.
resultsWe found that exposure to a household pet dog was associated with a significantly decreased hazard of having a subsequent diagnosis of schizophrenia (Hazard Ratio .75, p < .002) Furthermore, a significant decreased relative risk of schizophrenia was detected following exposure at birth and during the first years of life. There was no significant relationship between household exposure to a pet dog and bipolar disorder. There were no significant associations between exposure to a household pet cat and subsequent risk of either a schizophrenia or bipolar disorder diagnosis. However, there were trends towards an increased risk of both disorders at defined periods of exposure.
conclusionsExposure to household pets during infancy and childhood may be associated with altered rates of development of psychiatric disorders in later life.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.