4 ms·

Is owning a smartphone more or less dangerous than owning a cat? "Cat Ownership Linked to Increased Risk of Schizophrenia, Research Suggests" https://www.scien

Is owning a smartphone more or less dangerous than owning a cat? "Cat Ownership Linked to Increased Risk of Schizophrenia, Research Suggests" https://www.sciencealert.com/owning-a-cat-could-double-your-risk-of-schizophrenia-research-suggests https://www.sciencealert.com/owning-a-cat-could-double-your-... > "After adjusting for covariates, we found that individuals exposed to cats had approximately twice the odds of developing schizophrenia,"

Fnoord 11mo ago
My first question would be: or is it that cat owners are schizophrenic are more likely to get a cat? I'm not answering that question, but I do want to quote your article. From the bottom: > Results were inconsistent across studies, but those of higher quality suggested that associations in unadjusted models might have been due to factors that could have influenced the results. > One study found no significant association between owning a cat before age 13 and later developing schizophrenia, but it did identify a significant link when narrowing down cat ownership to a specific period (ages 9 to 12). This inconsistency suggests that the critical window for cat exposure is not well defined. > A study in the US, which involved 354 psychology students, didn't find a connection between owning a cat and schizotypy scores. However, those who had received a cat bite had higher scores when compared to those who had not. > Another study, which included people with and without mental disorders, discovered a connection between cat bites and higher scores on tests measuring particular psychological experiences. But they suggested other pathogens, such as Pasteurella multocida, may be responsible instead. > Before we can make any firm interpretations, the researchers reiterate that we need better and broader research.
- crooked-v 11mo ago
  And of course there's endless correlation-causation isseus there as well. Under most circumstances you have to be both aggressive and careless to get bitten by a cat in the first place.
- integralid 11mo ago
  >A study in the US, which involved 354 psychology students Sometimes I think that psychology students mental health must have extremely large influence on the field of psychology.
  - Fnoord 11mo ago
    That one also reads 'schizotypy'. This is much more broad than schizophrenia and includes schizoid personality disorder; something I don't have a diagnosis for but I do tick the boxes for (IMO) as a so-called introvert with diagnosed autism. And yes, we do have cats, and I have a natural dislike for dogs.
doctorpangloss 11mo ago
Obviously, because people like cats, they are good, and because people don’t like phones, they are bad.
graeme 11mo ago
Schizophrenia is a subset of "doing worse mentally". For a proper comparison you need to check overall mental health, not just schizophrenia, which is a rare condition.
luxuryballs 11mo ago
well since internet usage increases the purrrcent chance of cat ownership I’d say it’s at least a hair more dangerous and not without whisk(ers)
ch4s3 11mo ago
That article is junk. The leading cause of Toxoplasma gondii infection in humans is under cooked meat. Cat ownership is not actually linked to higher prevalence of T. gondii infection[1]. [1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3497129/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3497129/
- integralid 11mo ago
  And the second most common cause is - if I remember correctly - working a garden/field without gloves.
  - ch4s3 11mo ago
    I think contact with contaminated soil is the vector here.
DaveZale 11mo ago
the culprit is toxoplasma. A third or so of US citizens have it in their brains.
bean469 11mo ago
There's a popular saying about correlation and causation

Fnoord 11mo ago

My first question would be: or is it that cat owners are schizophrenic are more likely to get a cat? I'm not answering that question, but I do want to quote your article. From the bottom: > Results were inconsistent across studies, but those of higher quality suggested that associations in unadjusted models might have been due to factors that could have influenced the results. > One study found no significant association between owning a cat before age 13 and later developing schizophrenia, but it did identify a significant link when narrowing down cat ownership to a specific period (ages 9 to 12). This inconsistency suggests that the critical window for cat exposure is not well defined. > A study in the US, which involved 354 psychology students, didn't find a connection between owning a cat and schizotypy scores. However, those who had received a cat bite had higher scores when compared to those who had not. > Another study, which included people with and without mental disorders, discovered a connection between cat bites and higher scores on tests measuring particular psychological experiences. But they suggested other pathogens, such as Pasteurella multocida, may be responsible instead. > Before we can make any firm interpretations, the researchers reiterate that we need better and broader research.

crooked-v 11mo ago
And of course there's endless correlation-causation isseus there as well. Under most circumstances you have to be both aggressive and careless to get bitten by a cat in the first place.
integralid 11mo ago
>A study in the US, which involved 354 psychology students Sometimes I think that psychology students mental health must have extremely large influence on the field of psychology.
- Fnoord 11mo ago
  That one also reads 'schizotypy'. This is much more broad than schizophrenia and includes schizoid personality disorder; something I don't have a diagnosis for but I do tick the boxes for (IMO) as a so-called introvert with diagnosed autism. And yes, we do have cats, and I have a natural dislike for dogs.

doctorpangloss 11mo ago

Obviously, because people like cats, they are good, and because people don’t like phones, they are bad.

graeme 11mo ago

Schizophrenia is a subset of "doing worse mentally". For a proper comparison you need to check overall mental health, not just schizophrenia, which is a rare condition.

luxuryballs 11mo ago

well since internet usage increases the purrrcent chance of cat ownership I’d say it’s at least a hair more dangerous and not without whisk(ers)

ch4s3 11mo ago

That article is junk. The leading cause of Toxoplasma gondii infection in humans is under cooked meat. Cat ownership is not actually linked to higher prevalence of T. gondii infection[1]. [1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3497129/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3497129/

integralid 11mo ago
And the second most common cause is - if I remember correctly - working a garden/field without gloves.
- ch4s3 11mo ago
  I think contact with contaminated soil is the vector here.

DaveZale 11mo ago

the culprit is toxoplasma. A third or so of US citizens have it in their brains.

bean469 11mo ago

There's a popular saying about correlation and causation