BOULDER, Colo. — Growing up with a dog or cat can change you down to a cellular level.
Researchers at CU Boulder said it can change how your immune system develops and how you react to stress, even decades later.
CU Boulder Professor Christopher Lowry explained what happens to kids when they grow up with pets, like dogs and cats.
“It turns out that people who grow up with pets have an increase in a type of immune cell that keeps inflammation under control,” Professor Lowry said. “Just having a pet allows you to have more of these.”
To get really specific, Lowry said it has to do with exposures to certain microbes.
"There's certain ways that you can increase your exposure to these types of microbes that are protective. One is having a pet, and that includes a cat or a dog. Two is spending more time outdoors. So those of us who live in modern urban environments, we spend about 90% of our time indoors, in places that don't have nature or don't have soil," Lowry said. "So by spending more time outdoors, we can also increase our exposures."
Lowry said the research shows this impacts T cells and inflammation in your body in reaction to stress, even when you become an adults.
"We call them immune regulatory cells, their their type of T cell, type of immune cell that controls inflammation," Lowry said. "And if you had pets, you have more of these cells just at baseline."
As for what's next, CU Boulder said there needs to be more research done, particularly on how this could impact women and people of different ages and backgrounds.
