They’re often referred to as ‘man’s best friend’, and now a new study has shown how having a dog can also be good for your gut.
Researchers from the University of Toronto found that young children who grow up with a family dog have healthier guts and are less likely to develop Crohn’s disease – a common inflammatory bowel disease.
‘Our study seems to add to others that have explored the “hygiene hypothesis” which suggests that the lack of exposure to microbes early in life may lead to lack of immune regulation toward environmental microbes,’ said Dr Williams Turpin, senior author of the study.
Researchers from the University of Toronto found that young children who grow up with a family dog have healthier guts and are less likely to develop Crohn’s disease – a common inflammatory bowel disease (stock image)
Crohn’s disease is a long-term condition that causes inflammation of the lining of the digestive system.
Inflammation most commonly occurs in the last section of the small or large intestine, but it can affect any part of the digestive system.
‘Living with Crohn’s disease can be difficult at times,’ the NHS said.
‘Unpredictable flare-ups and regular check-ups with your care team can disrupt school, work and your social life.’
In the study, the researchers set out to understand whether growing up with a pet dog affects children’s risk of developing the condition.
The researchers studied data from nearly 4,300 first-degree relatives of people with Crohn’s disease.
They assessed several factors, including family size, the presence of dogs or cats as household pets, the number of bathrooms in the house, living on a farm, drinking unpasteurised milk and drinking well water.
Their analysis revealed that exposure to dogs – particularly from ages 5 to 15 – was linked with healthy gut permeability and balance between microbes in the gut and the body’s immune system.
These factors might help protect against Crohn’s disease, according to the researchers.
‘We did not see the same results with cats, though we are still trying to determine why,’ Dr Turpin said.
‘It could potentially be because dog owners get outside more often with their pets or live in areas with more green space, which has been shown previously to protect against Crohn’s.’
Crohn’s disease is a long-term condition that causes inflammation of the lining of the digestive system (stock image)
People who lived with more than three family members in the first year of their life were also found to be at lower risk for Crohn’s disease.
The researchers suggest this may also boost your microbiome composition – which is believed to play a role in several health conditions including inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure.
While the researchers hope the findings could help doctors to determine patients at high risk for Crohn’s disease, they caution that further research is needed to verify the findings.
The reasons dog ownership and larger families appear to provide protection from Crohn’s remain unclear, the researchers added.
