The health benefits of dogs and cats for children are not supported in a large population-based studyResearch on pets in the home generally supports the idea that growing up with a pet dog or cat promotes children’s physical and psychological health. This assumption was challenged by a study involving over 5000 children in California.
Data for this study was based on the 2003 results of the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), which collected extensive health-related information on families in California along with demographic and socioeconomic information. Specific questions on the survey asked parents to report on the general health and weight status of their child, whether a doctor had ever indicated that their child had attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder (ADD/ADHD), and whether they were concerned about their child’s feelings, mood, behavior, and ability to learn how to do things on their own. Parents were also asked about the physical activity level of their child. The researchers then compared the data on the children who lived with a dog or cat in the home with data on children without such a pet.
Propensity score analysis (a statistical approach that controls for pre-existing differences between groups) was used to obtain unbiased estimates of the effects of pet cats and dogs on children’s health. The primary outcome was child’s parent-reported general health; secondary outcomes included child’s weight, ADD/ADHD diagnosis, physical activity, and parent’s expression of concerns about the feelings, behavior, learning, or obedience of the child. There were substantial differences in a range of health-related measures between the two groups of children – those living with a dog or cat and those without such a pet. Children in pet-owning households tended to have better health than the other group of children. When the propensity score analysis was applied, however, the health-related effects of pet ownership were reduced and the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant.
While these findings indicate that pet owners differ from non-owners on a number of health-related factors, they do not provide evidence of a beneficial effect of pet ownership for child health once pre-existing differences between the groups are controlled for. Previous evidence of positive benefits of pets may be attributable to confounding factors.
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