Family pet ownership during childhood: findings from a UK birth cohort and implications for public health research
- PMID: 21139856
- PMCID: PMC2996187
- DOI: 10.3390/ijerph7103704
Family pet ownership during childhood: findings from a UK birth cohort and implications for public health research
Abstract
In developed nations, approximately half of household environments contain pets. Studies of Human-Animal Interaction (HAI) have proposed that there are health benefits and risks associated with pet ownership. However, accurately demonstrating and understanding these relationships first requires a better knowledge of factors associated with ownership of different pet types. A UK birth cohort, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), were used to collect pet ownership data from the mothers, from gestation to child age 10 years old. 14,663 children were included in the study, of which mothers of 13,557 reported pet information at gestation, and 7,800 by age 10. Pet types recorded include cat, dog, rabbit, rodent, bird, fish and tortoise/turtle. The dataset also contains a number of demographic, socioeconomic and behavioural variables relevant to human health behaviour. Logistic regression was used to build multivariable models for ownership of each pet type at age 7 years. Family pet ownership increased during childhood, in particular rabbits, rodents and fish. A number of socioeconomic and demographic factors were associated with ownership of different pet types and the effects differed depending on the pet type studied. Variables which require consideration by researchers include gender, presence of older siblings, ethnicity, maternal and paternal education, maternal and paternal social class, maternal age, number of people in the household, house type, and concurrent ownership of other pets. Whether the mother had pets during her childhood was a strong predictor of pet ownership in all models. In HAI studies, care should be taken to control for confounding factors, and to treat each pet type individually. ALSPAC and other similar birth cohorts can be considered a potential resource for research into the effects of pet ownership during childhood.
Keywords: ALSPAC; cat; child; dog; pet.
Figures
![Figure 1.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/2996187/bin/ijerph-07-03704f1.gif)
Similar articles
-
Pet safety guidelines for pediatric transplant recipients.Pediatr Transplant. 2024 Feb;28(1):e14527. doi: 10.1111/petr.14527. Epub 2023 Aug 7. Pediatr Transplant. 2024. PMID: 37550270 Review.
-
Socio-demographic factors associated with pet ownership amongst adolescents from a UK birth cohort.BMC Vet Res. 2019 Sep 18;15(1):334. doi: 10.1186/s12917-019-2063-x. BMC Vet Res. 2019. PMID: 31533719 Free PMC article.
-
Companion Animals and Child/Adolescent Development: A Systematic Review of the Evidence.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017 Feb 27;14(3):234. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14030234. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017. PMID: 28264460 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Associations of Pet Ownership with Wheezing and Lung Function in Childhood: Findings from a UK Birth Cohort.PLoS One. 2015 Jun 10;10(6):e0127756. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0127756. eCollection 2015. PLoS One. 2015. PMID: 26061067 Free PMC article.
-
Pet ownership is associated with increased risk of non-atopic asthma and reduced risk of atopy in childhood: findings from a UK birth cohort.Clin Exp Allergy. 2015 Jan;45(1):200-10. doi: 10.1111/cea.12380. Clin Exp Allergy. 2015. PMID: 25077415 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
Cited by
-
Longitudinal patterns of companion animals in families with children during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study®.Front Vet Sci. 2024 Apr 24;11:1364718. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1364718. eCollection 2024. Front Vet Sci. 2024. PMID: 38721152 Free PMC article.
-
The role of veterinarians in zoonosis prevention: Advising families of immunocompromised children with pets.One Health. 2023 Dec 12;18:100662. doi: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2023.100662. eCollection 2024 Jun. One Health. 2023. PMID: 38204817 Free PMC article.
-
The influence of pet ownership on self-compassion among nurses: a cross-sectional study.PeerJ. 2023 May 3;11:e15288. doi: 10.7717/peerj.15288. eCollection 2023. PeerJ. 2023. PMID: 37159831 Free PMC article.
-
The influence of early-life animal exposure on the risk of childhood atopic dermatitis, asthma and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis: findings from the Danish National Birth Cohort.Int J Epidemiol. 2023 Aug 2;52(4):1231-1242. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyad040. Int J Epidemiol. 2023. PMID: 37018630 Free PMC article.
-
Pet ownership and survival of European older adults.Eur J Ageing. 2022 Nov 4;19(4):1549-1560. doi: 10.1007/s10433-022-00739-6. eCollection 2022 Dec. Eur J Ageing. 2022. PMID: 36373031 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Voith VL. The Impact of Companion Animal Problems on Society and the Role of Veterinarians. Vet. Clin. N. Amer.-Small Anim. 2009;39:327–345. - PubMed
-
- Headey B. Pet ownership: good for health? Med. J. Australia. 2003;179:460–461. - PubMed
-
- Friedmann E. The role of pets in enhancing human well-being: physiological effects. In: Robinson I, editor. The Waltham Book of Human-Animal Interaction: Benefits and Responsibilities of Pet Ownership. Elsevier Science Ltd; Oxford, UK: 1995. pp. 33–53.
-
- Katcher AH, Friedmann E. Potential health value of pet ownership. California Veterinarian. 1982;36:9–13.
Publication types
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical
Miscellaneous