Children in the Companies of Pets Have Less Stress
A pet dog may protect your child
from childhood anxiety, according to research published by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
Dogs follow human communication
cues.
Childhood mental illness and
obesity are significant public health concerns in the US. Since they start in
childhood, preventive and early intervention approaches are needed.
Pet dogs have been linked with
health benefits for adults, as promoted by the US Public Health Service
(USPHS).
In Australia and the UK, dog
ownership has been linked with increased physical activity among children aged
5-12 years and healthier body mass index (BMI) in those aged 5-6 years, due to
walking and active play.
Such data is lacking in the US,
so more evidence is needed to support pet ownership as a health strategy.
How can pets help mental health?
Pets can stimulate conversation,
creating an ice-breaking effect that alleviates social anxiety. Dogs also tend
to follow human communicative cues, which could help in emotional development.
Fast facts about pets
36.5% of households in the US
own a dog
30.4% own a cat
1.5% own a horse.
Learn more about pets and health
Children aged 7-8 years have
previously ranked pets higher than humans as providers of comfort and
self-esteem, and as confidants.
Animal-assisted therapy (AAT)
with dogs reduces anxiety and arousal, alleviates separation anxiety and
enhances attachment in children, thereby improving mental health and reducing
developmental disorders.
Promoting children's behavioral
and emotional competence can help prevent mental, emotional and behavioral
disorders during adulthood.
If exposure to pet dogs during
childhood can help achieve these goals, positive child¬--dog interactions could
prevent potential problems from developing during adolescence or later life.
However, there is little evidence
for primary care providers to use when counseling parents regarding the
benefits of pet dogs for young children.
Can a dog help improve BMI and
anxiety?
In the current study, researchers
from Bassett Medical Center in New York investigated the hypothesis that pet
dogs are positively associated with healthy weight and mental health among
children.
The study looked at 643 children
aged 4-10 years, with an average age of 6.7 years, over an 18-month period in a
pediatric primary care setting. Of these, 45% were female, 56% were privately
insured and 58% had pet dogs in the home.
Before an annual visit, parents
completed a health risk screener online, focusing on child BMI, physical
activity, screen time, mental health and pet ownership.
Confounders included the fact
that pet-owning families may differ from those without pets, for example in
socioeconomic environment, a known social determinant of health; family income
has been significantly associated with adolescent mental health, so the
researchers adjusted for this factor.
Less stress for children with
dogs
No difference was found between
children with and without a pet dog regarding BMI, screen time or physical
activity.
But among the 58% of children
with a dog in the home, 12% tested positive on a screening test for anxiety,
compared with 21% of children who did not have a pet dog.
Strength of the study is that it
was carried out in a real-world setting and was based on children in preventive
care, a far larger and more inclusive group than in previous studies, which
focused on children with mental and developmental disorders.
Parental reporting could be a
limitation, although statistics have shown high concordance between actual
mental health issues and what parents say. Also, the population was 96% white,
suggesting a need for further study in more racially and ethnically diverse
populations.
The researchers suggest:
"Interacting with a friendly
dog also reduces cortisol levels, most likely throughoxytocin release, which
lessens physiologic responses to stress. These hormonal effects may underlie
the observed emotional and behavioral benefits of animal-assisted therapy and
pet dogs."
Medical News Today reported
recently that animals can detect mood changes and even illness in humans.
Written by Yvette Brazier
Children in the Companies of Pets Have Less Stress
A pet dog may protect your child
from childhood anxiety, according to research published by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
Dogs follow human communication
cues.
Childhood mental illness and
obesity are significant public health concerns in the US. Since they start in
childhood, preventive and early intervention approaches are needed.
Pet dogs have been linked with
health benefits for adults, as promoted by the US Public Health Service
(USPHS).
In Australia and the UK, dog
ownership has been linked with increased physical activity among children aged
5-12 years and healthier body mass index (BMI) in those aged 5-6 years, due to
walking and active play.
Such data is lacking in the US,
so more evidence is needed to support pet ownership as a health strategy.
How can pets help mental health?
Pets can stimulate conversation,
creating an ice-breaking effect that alleviates social anxiety. Dogs also tend
to follow human communicative cues, which could help in emotional development.
Fast facts about pets
36.5% of households in the US
own a dog
30.4% own a cat
1.5% own a horse.
Learn more about pets and health
Children aged 7-8 years have
previously ranked pets higher than humans as providers of comfort and
self-esteem, and as confidants.
Animal-assisted therapy (AAT)
with dogs reduces anxiety and arousal, alleviates separation anxiety and
enhances attachment in children, thereby improving mental health and reducing
developmental disorders.
Promoting children's behavioral
and emotional competence can help prevent mental, emotional and behavioral
disorders during adulthood.
If exposure to pet dogs during
childhood can help achieve these goals, positive child¬--dog interactions could
prevent potential problems from developing during adolescence or later life.
However, there is little evidence
for primary care providers to use when counseling parents regarding the
benefits of pet dogs for young children.
Can a dog help improve BMI and
anxiety?
In the current study, researchers
from Bassett Medical Center in New York investigated the hypothesis that pet
dogs are positively associated with healthy weight and mental health among
children.
The study looked at 643 children
aged 4-10 years, with an average age of 6.7 years, over an 18-month period in a
pediatric primary care setting. Of these, 45% were female, 56% were privately
insured and 58% had pet dogs in the home.
Before an annual visit, parents
completed a health risk screener online, focusing on child BMI, physical
activity, screen time, mental health and pet ownership.
Confounders included the fact
that pet-owning families may differ from those without pets, for example in
socioeconomic environment, a known social determinant of health; family income
has been significantly associated with adolescent mental health, so the
researchers adjusted for this factor.
Less stress for children with
dogs
No difference was found between
children with and without a pet dog regarding BMI, screen time or physical
activity.
But among the 58% of children
with a dog in the home, 12% tested positive on a screening test for anxiety,
compared with 21% of children who did not have a pet dog.
Strength of the study is that it
was carried out in a real-world setting and was based on children in preventive
care, a far larger and more inclusive group than in previous studies, which
focused on children with mental and developmental disorders.
Parental reporting could be a
limitation, although statistics have shown high concordance between actual
mental health issues and what parents say. Also, the population was 96% white,
suggesting a need for further study in more racially and ethnically diverse
populations.
The researchers suggest:
"Interacting with a friendly
dog also reduces cortisol levels, most likely throughoxytocin release, which
lessens physiologic responses to stress. These hormonal effects may underlie
the observed emotional and behavioral benefits of animal-assisted therapy and
pet dogs."
Medical News Today reported
recently that animals can detect mood changes and even illness in humans.
Written by Yvette Brazier
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