ArticleBMC pediatrics2022
Impact of pet dog or cat exposure during childhood on mental illness during adolescence: a cohort study.
Article in BMC pediatrics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Occurrence of mycotoxins contamination in commercial feline and canine foods from China.Mycotoxin research · 2026Article
- One Health Investigation of a HouseholdPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Impact of pet ownership in early childhood at ages 1 and 4-5 years on mental health at ages 7-8: findings from the INMA project.World journal of pediatrics : WJP · 2025Article
- Association of only-child status and household pet ownership with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder among Chinese preschool children: a population-based study.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Ownership of dogs and cats leads to higher levels of well-being and general trust through family involvement in late adolescence.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2023Article
- A Familiar Outbreak of MonophasicPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIn our prior study of 643 children, ages 4-11 years, children with pet dogs had lower anxiety scores than children without pet dogs. This follow-up study examines whether exposure to pet dogs or cats during childhood reduces the risk of adolescent mental health (MH) disorders.
methodsUsing a retrospective cohort study design, we merged our prior study database with electronic medical record (EMR) data to create an analytic database. Common MH diagnoses (anxiety, depression, ADHD) occurring from the time of prior study enrollment to 10/27/21 were identified using ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes. We used proportional hazards regression to compare time to MH diagnoses, between youths with and without pets. From 4/1/20 to 10/27/21, parents and youth in the prior study were interviewed about the amount of time the youth was exposed to a pet and how attached s/he was to the pet. Exposure included having a pet dog at baseline, cumulative exposure to a pet dog or cat during follow-up, and level of pet attachment. The main outcomes were anxiety diagnosis, any MH diagnosis, and MH diagnosis associated with a psychotropic prescription.
resultsEMR review identified 571 youths with mean age of 14 years (range 11-19), 53% were male, 58% had a pet dog at baseline. During follow-up (mean of 7.8 years), 191 children received a MH diagnosis: 99 were diagnosed with anxiety (52%), 61 with ADHD (32%), 21 with depression (11%), 10 with combined MH diagnoses (5%). After adjusting for significant confounders, having a pet dog at baseline was associated with lower risk of any MH diagnosis (HR = 0.74, p = .04) but not for anxiety or MH diagnosis with a psychotropic prescription. Among the 241 (42%) youths contacted for follow-up, parent-reported cumulative exposure to pet dogs was borderline negatively associated with occurrence of any MH diagnosis (HR = 0.74, p = .06). Cumulative exposure to the most attached pet (dog or cat) was negatively associated with anxiety diagnosis (HR = 0.57, p = .006) and any MH diagnosis (HR = 0.64, p = .013).
conclusionCumulative exposure to a highly attached pet dog or cat is associated with reduced risk of adolescent MH disorders.
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