How owning a dog can boost teenagers’ mental wellbeing, study on gut health finds

“Since the gut microbiota influences behaviour through the gut-brain axis, we conducted this experiment.”

The researchers concluded that microbiome “may be partly involved in improving the wellbeing of adolescents living with dogs”.

“We recently revealed that small numbers of bacteria can be transferred between owners and their dogs, and vice versa,” the scientists wrote in their study, published in iScience.

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“In humans, kissing facilitates the transfer of oral microbiota.

“Since kissing and licking are common in human-dog interactions, it is speculated that these interactions may alter the oral and gut microbiota of owners, potentially influencing gut-brain function.”

Kikusui said: “The most interesting finding from this study is that bacteria promoting prosociality, or empathy, were discovered in the microbiomes of adolescent children who keep dogs.

“The implication is that the benefits of dog ownership include providing a sense of security through interaction, but I believe it also holds value in its potential to alter the symbiotic microbial community.”

The Telegraph, London

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