Childhood cat ownership linked to higher risk of adult psychotic experiences

Canada: A recent study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research has found that childhood cat ownership, especially with rodent-hunting cats, could potentially be linked to a higher risk of psychotic experiences in adulthood.

While the association between cat ownership and psychosis has been previously studied, the role of parasitic exposure from hunting cats and other environmental factors has not been fully explored. The study aimed to examine the conditional associations between childhood cat ownership and the frequency of psychotic experiences in adulthood.

The study involved 2206 adult participants in downtown Montreal who completed a survey on childhood cat ownership, winter birth, residential moves, head trauma history, and tobacco smoking.

The frequency of psychotic experiences was measured using a 15-item positive subscale questionnaire. Linear regressions were conducted to examine the associations between exposures and psychotic experiences, while interactions among variables were explored using a conditional inference tree.

The study revealed the following key takeaways:

1. 1.Rodent-hunting cat ownership was associated with higher PE scores in male participants, but not in female participants.
2. 2.Non-smokers with >1 residential move, head trauma history, and rodent-hunting cat ownership had the highest mean PE score according to the conditional inference tree.

The interaction between rodent-hunting cat ownership and head trauma history was found to be significant in a post-hoc linear regression model, suggesting that the association between childhood cat ownership and psychotic experiences may depend on other environmental exposures.

“The study does not prove causality and further research is needed; the findings provide valuable insights into the potential role of childhood cat ownership in the development of psychotic experiences in adulthood. It is important for healthcare professionals to consider environmental exposures and other factors when assessing and treating individuals with psychotic experiences.” added the researcher of the study.

Reference:

Paquin V., Elgbeili G., Munden J., et al.; Conditional associations between childhood cat ownership and psychotic experiences in adulthood: A retrospective study; Journal of Psychiatric Research; 2023; doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.01.058