Cat ownership not linked to mental health problems, study says

[Eugene]

Source: CNN

Cat ownership not linked to mental health problems, study says

By Johanzynn Gatewood, CNN
Updated 0009 GMT (0809 HKT) February 22, 2017

(CNN) - Studies have suggested that cat ownership could be linked to certain mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, but researchers at University College London say they found no link between cat ownership and the development of psychotic symptoms.

Published in the medical journal Psychological Medicine, the new study is the first to prospectively look at childhood cat ownership and the infection of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii as a risk factor for psychosis.

House cats are known to be the primary host of T. gondii, which infects various warm-blooded animals (including humans) and causes a disease called toxoplasmosis.

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The new study looked at nearly 5,000 people in the United Kingdom who were born between 1991 and 1992 and followed them until the age of 18. The researchers used birth information to determine whether households had cats when the mothers were pregnant and when the children were growing up. At ages 13 and 18 years, the children were brought into clinics to be evaluated for psychotic-like symptoms.

After controlling for potential confounding factors, the study concluded that cat ownership in pregnancy and childhood did not play a role in developing psychotic symptoms during adolescence.

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Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/21/health/cat-ownership-mental-health-study/

[Warpy]

1. I could have told them that

After all, the only way to detect toxoplasmosis is with a blood test, behavioral patterns don't do it.

If anything, the companionship of a cat helps people stay a lot saner.