Shine OnOdd study finds strong link between cat bites and depression
Are people who own cats more likely to be depressed?
This is one of the puzzling questions posed by research showing there is a strong link between people who receive medical treatment for cat bites and the chance that they have experienced depression.
The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, analyzed the medical records of 1.3 million Americans over 10 years.
Researchers discovered that 41 per cent of people treated for cat bites were also diagnosed with depression at some point, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Also see: Meditation as effective as medication in treating depression, study finds
"There definitely is an association there," says Dr. David A. Hanauer, lead researcher and medical professor at the University of Michigan. "We don't know why."
Furthermore, the results show an even stronger correlation between women with cat bites and depression -- 86 per cent of people in the study who experienced both were women.
As Popular Science notes, the researchers have given three possible explanations for their findings.
Firstly, it's plausible that depressed people are more likely to own cats because their furry friends bring a myriad of proven health benefits. The authors explain:
For example, pet ownership has been shown to reduce elevated blood pressure caused by mental stress even better than antihypertensive medications. Pets can also provide substantial social support. A study in Switzerland reported that among people living alone, cats could improve their mood.
Also see: Can DIY treat depression?
Secondly, depressed people may be more likely to exhibit behaviour that causes cats to bite them. Because depressed people make less eye contact than non-depressed people, their cats could be negatively responding to their social cues.
But perhaps the oddest explanation is that the cats are infecting their owners with a parasite that may cause depression, among other mental health problems.
The parasite Toxoplasma gondii is commonly found in cat feces, and the authors suggest it might be harming the brains of cat owners, as there is evidence it is linked to prenatal depression and self-harm.
Infections from the parasite have been associated with self-inflicted violence as well as increased suicide rates in women. It has also been suggested that the inflammatory cytokines released during a T. gondii infection in the brain may be the cause of depression in some patients.
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