Give your child a puppy
Dogs save children from severe diseases of the stomach and intestines
Living in the same house with a dog as a child can protect a person from Crohn's disease. This is evidenced by the data of a large-scale study by Canadian scientists.
Crohn's disease is an inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract, which can affect all its departments, starting from the oral cavity and ending with the rectum. Symptoms — chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss, fatigue, decreased appetite, fever.
In medicine, there is a hygienic hypothesis according to which living in conditions far from sterility helps the development of the immune system in the child's body. In its favor is the fact that residents of less developed countries are less likely to suffer from autoimmune diseases. Although the hypothesis remains controversial, recently there has been more and more convincing evidence that the gut microbiome really affects immunity. The new study complements previous work in this area, according to the lead author of the article Williams Turpin (Williams Turpin) from the University of Toronto.
Scientists examined 4,300 questionnaires of the closest relatives of people with Crohn's disease. Dr. Turpin and his colleagues were interested in the conditions in which these people grew up: the size of the family, the presence of dogs or cats, living on a farm, the use of unpasteurized milk, the quality of drinking water, and others.
The study showed that people who have been in constant contact with dogs are characterized by healthy intestinal permeability and a balance between microbes in the gastrointestinal tract and the body's immune response. Dogs had a particularly beneficial effect on children aged 5 to 15 years.
It is noteworthy that, according to the study, the presence of a cat in the family did not bring any benefit to the child's intestines. Why is not yet clear.
"Perhaps dog owners are more likely to go outside with their pets or live in areas with a lot of greenery, which, as previously shown, protects against Crohn's disease," explains Turpin, whose words are quoted in a press release. American Gastroenterological Association.
Another factor that has a positive effect on the gut microbiome is living in a large family under the age of one year, Canadian scientists have found out. However, the exact reasons why the presence of dogs and large families provide protection from Crohn's disease remain unclear.
Crohn's disease is most often detected in the countries of Northern Europe and the USA. Its prevalence there ranges from 40 to 150 people per 100,000 inhabitants. In Russia — 3-4.5 people per 100,000 inhabitants.
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