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ArticleActas espanolas de psiquiatria2025

Effects of Dog-assisted Therapy in Anxiety Symptoms of Female Adolescents With Eating Disorders: A Controlled Trial.

Beatriz Martínez Núñez, Javier Fernández Sánchez, Ana Myriam Lavín Pérez, Luis-Lucio Lobato Rincón, Manuel Fonseca García, Israel González García, Montserrat Graell Berna, Daniel Collado Mateo

2 registry-linked trialsAbstract readControlled Clinical Trial
In one paragraph

Article in Actas espanolas de psiquiatria, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT04869423 naunknown statusnot on this map

Effects of Dog-assisted Therapy in Adolescents With Eating Disorders: a Controlled Trial.

TypeinterventionalSponsorDaniel Collado-MateoRan2021 to 2021Enrolled32ConditionsEating Disorders in Adolescence, Eating Disorders, Anorexia Nervosa/BulimiaArmsDog-Assisted Therapy
NCT07663916 nacompletednot on this map

Randomized Controlled Trial and Subjective Experience of Dog-Assisted Therapy in Adolescents Attending a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Day Hospital: A Mixed-Methods Study

TypeinterventionalSponsorHospital Clinic of BarcelonaRan2024 to 2026Enrolled70ConditionsMental Health Disorders in Adolescents, Emotional Dysregulation, Anxiety Disorders, Depressive DisordersArmsExperimental: Experimental: Dog-assisted therapy + Treatment as usual, Active Comparator: Treatment as usual
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Beatriz Martínez NúñezPsychiatry and Psychology Department, Niño Jesús University Children's Hospital, 28009 Madrid, Spain.
Javier Fernández SánchezSports Science Research Centre, Rey Juan Carlos University, 28943 Fuenlabrada, Madrid, Spain.
Ana Myriam Lavín PérezSports Science Research Centre, Rey Juan Carlos University, 28943 Fuenlabrada, Madrid, Spain.
Luis-Lucio Lobato RincónDepartment of Experimental Psychology, Cognitive Processes and Speech Therapy, Faculty of Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid, 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain; Animal-Assisted Interventions Office, King Juan Carlos University, 28933 Móstoles, Madrid, Spain.
Manuel Fonseca GarcíaPerroterapia Non-Governmental Association, 28523 Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Madrid, Spain.
Israel González GarcíaAnimal-Assisted Interventions Office, King Juan Carlos University, 28933 Móstoles, Madrid, Spain.
Montserrat Graell BernaPsychiatry and Psychology Department, Niño Jesús University Children's Hospital, 28009 Madrid, Spain.
Daniel Collado MateoSports Science Research Centre, Rey Juan Carlos University, 28943 Fuenlabrada, Madrid, Spain; Animal-Assisted Interventions Office, King Juan Carlos University, 28933 Móstoles, Madrid, Spain.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEating disorders are a cluster of challenging psychiatric and medical conditions that constitute a major problem in adolescents and young adults. Animal-assisted interventions are currently a promising complementary therapy with great development in the hospital field.

methodsThe study is a non-randomized clinical trial designed with two groups under assessment. The first group consisted of 15 female patients at a Day Hospital diagnosed with eating disorders who received animal-assisted therapy. The second group had a sample of 15 patients from the same hospital with similar diagnoses and matched characteristics to the intervention group. Anxiety, depression, eating symptoms, grip strength, and health-related quality of life were analyzed both previously and after the intervention.

resultsANOVA results showed a significant between-group reduction in the state anxiety levels (p = 0.011, ηp2 = 0.211), with a significant decrease in the intervention group (p = 0.003). Interpersonal distrust (p = 0.042) and fear of maturity (p = 0.012) subscales in the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI2) questionnaire had larger improvement when comparing pre- and post-measures in the intervention group. A similar trend was observed for the rest of the eating symptoms subscales and grip strength in the group treated with the animal-assisted intervention.

conclusionThis study suggests that dog-assisted therapy may be an effective complementary intervention for reducing state anxiety in adolescents with eating disorders. Given the role of anxiety in the maintenance of anorexia nervosa, targeting this symptom could have therapeutic benefits. Additionally, improvements in interpersonal distrust and maturity fears were observed, highlighting the potential impact of animal-assisted therapy on specific psychological factors associated with eating disorders. These findings support the inclusion of dog-assisted interventions as part of multidisciplinary treatment approaches, although further research with larger samples is needed to confirm these effects. CLINICAL

trial registrationclinicaltrials.gov (NCT04869423).

Indexed as

Animal Assisted TherapyAnxietyFeeding and Eating DisordersAdolescentAnimalsDogsFemaleHumans

Identifiers

PMID41437761
PMCPMC12728540

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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.