Allergic diseases are more common among dogs and their owners in urban environments

In urban environments, allergic diseases are more common among dogs and their owners compared to those living in rural areas.

Simultaneous allergy symptoms appear to be related to the microbes found in the environment, but health-related microbes differ between dogs and humans.

In a joint research project called DogEnvi, researchers from the University of Helsinki, the Finnish Institute of the Environment and the Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare have previously found that dogs are more likely to have allergies when their owners ‘suffering from allergic symptoms.

In a new study, the researchers examined whether such an allergic presence is associated with gut or skin microbes shared by dogs and their owners. 168 pairs of dog owners living in rural and urban environments participated in the study.

Research shows that dogs and owners living in rural areas have a lower risk of developing allergic disease compared to urban areas. We accepted that dogs and owners are exposed to health – promoting microbes in rural areas. We found that microbial exposure was different in both rural and urban environments. For example, the skin microbiota varied more between individuals in rural areas compared to their urban peers. It may be just a different and varied microbial exposure that provides the associated health benefit. “

Jenni Lehtimäki, PhD, Senior Researcher, Finnish Environmental Institute

Dogs and their owners seemed to share microbes on their skin, but not in their gut. The study showed that the living environment had a significantly greater effect on the skin microbiota than it had on the skin in humans and humans.

Dogs living in urban areas had on the skin more microbes commonly found on human skin, which can be caused by an accumulation of microbes that is normal for indoor and outdoor humans. urban areas, something previously seen.

In an earlier study, the researchers noticed that both the living environment and the living habits affected canine skin microbiota.

“The same thing has now been seen in humans. For both dogs and humans, the risk of developing allergic diseases was lowest when the skin microbiota was shaped by a rural environment and lifestyle. stimulates microbial abundance.This lifestyle was associated with a number of different animals in the family, as well as a larger family size, “says Professor Hannes Lohi of the University of Helsinki.

Although the living environment appeared to alter the nature of the skin microbiota as well as the risk of allergic diseases in dogs and their owners, no single shared microbe in the environment was associated with allergies in dogs and dogs. people.

“We found allergy-related microbes in urban dogs, as well as health-related microbes in domestic and human dogs, but these microbes were different in dogs and humans.

The microbes in the living environment appear to be important for the health of both dogs and humans, but due to the physiological differences of the species, the relevant microbes can change, ”Lehtimäki summarizes.

DogEnvi, a multidisciplinary research project launched in 2014, aims to study the meaning of the living environment for canine health. Under the project, a study is being prepared on the link between gut canine microbiota, nutrition and allergies. The project has received funding from the Jane Foundation and Aatos Erkko, among others.