Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/03/15/study-links-cat-ownership-to-a-doubled-risk-of-schizophrenia.html
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I look forward to the comments being completely on scientific topic.
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Sounds sus.
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Was this study written by a dog?
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How doe they know it doesn’t work the other way around, that is, people with underlying tendencies toward schizophrenia may be twice as likely to choose cats for pets? I’m an expert on nothing; perhaps someone can clarify this for me.
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Ah okay - I recollect seeing research that indicated this close to thirty years ago, so I knew it wasn’t exactly a new discovery. I wonder what the meta-study found that wasn’t already in that old research…
Don’t worry, I’m sure dog parasites and viruses contribute their own, completely different, set of risks factors for developing neurological conditions… at least that’s what my talking cat tells me. Which is weird because I don’t have a cat.
In part because the risks are there even if you had a cat in childhood, when you’re not the one choosing the pet. (There’s also specific research on the impact of toxoplasma, etc.)
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Less noticed was a parallel study showing that for cats, living with humans is also correlated with schizophrenia
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Is there a test to see if someone has T. gondii? This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of it having significant mental effects on humans, but all the doctors I’ve mentioned it to don’t seem to have even heard of it.
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Yes.
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What hurt me more than cats causing schizophrenia is that painting having been generated by AI.
I love it so much, and knowing a computer program generated it makes me sad.
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For developing “dawww.”
Oh, OK, I guess that both dog owners and cat “owners” can develop said affliction.
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So, cause or effect, you decide.
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Or maybe people with schizophrenia like cats. I used to visit a mental institution. The patients loved to pet the felines. IMHO without the slightest scientific backing, the presence of these animals brought a little comfort to them.
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Or could be a little of both? However as @Shuck notes the study did include this bit:
I’m guessing that includes a lot of people who grew up in families that owned cats when they weren’t old enough to have much say in family pet ownership? Most people who are diagnosed with schizophrenia get that diagnosis during their late teens or early adulthood so if it’s schizophrenia that leads to cat ownership then it must be a pretty fast-acting mechanism.
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Is there any correlation that increases the risk, say, according to the number of cats owned? For instance, if my neighbor or across the street owns 100 cats, is that a 230x increase in the risk of developing schizophrenia….
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