children who grow up in the company of canines may be less likely to develop crohn’s disease later in life, according to a new study that gives dogs a healthy leg up in the battle of household pets.
the research,
presented during digestive disease week in san francisco
, found that having a dog — particularly between the ages of five and 15 — appeared to offer protection against inflammatory bowel disease (ibd) by promoting healthy gut permeability and a balance between microbes in the gut and the body’s immune response. this protective effect, which was not observed with cats, was also seen in infants who lived with three or more family members during the first year of life.
“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 williams turpin
, the study’s senior author and a research associate at mount sinai hospital and the university of toronto.
canada has one of the highest rates of inflammatory diseases in the world,
according to crohn’s and colitis canada
, with around 300,000 people currently living with ibd. crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, the two main forms of ibd, are diseases that cause inflammation in the lining of the gastrointestinal tract and interfere with the body’s ability to digest food, absorb nutrients and efficiently remove waste. the rate of crohn’s and colitis among canadian children has increased by more than 50 per cent over the past 10 years, with symptoms of these chronic diseases, which can recede and return over time, including abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, rectal bleeding and weight loss.
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