Abstract
Simple SummaryMetabolic syndrome represents a multicomponent disorder characterized by abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension and impaired insulin sensitivity, which is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The etiology of metabolic syndrome is the result of a complex interaction between genetic, metabolic and environmental factors. However, the relationship between the risk of suffering metabolic syndrome and owning pets has not been sufficiently studied, although being in contact with pets has been considered a protective factor against cardiovascular disease. Moreover, some evidence suggests that this protection might be due to favorable changes in the intestinal microbiota. Bearing this background in mind, in this work we hypothesized that people who live with pets harbor a different microbiota to those who do not own a pet, and this fact could reduce the risk of suffering metabolic syndrome.Pet ownership positively influences clinical outcomes in cardiovascular prevention. Additionally, cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been previously linked to microbiota dysbiosis. We evaluated the influence of owning a pet and its relationship with the intestinal microbiota. We analyzed the gut microbiota from 162 coronary patients from the CORDIOPREV study (NCT00924937) according to whether they owned pets (n = 83) or not (n = 79). The pet-owner group was further divided according to whether they owned dogs only (n = 28) or not (n = 55). A 7-item pet-owners test score was used. Patients who owned pets had less risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) (OR = 0.462) and obesity (OR = 0.519) and were younger (p < 0.001) than patients who did not own pets. Additionally, patients who owned dogs had less risk of MetS (OR = 0.378) and obesity (OR = 0.418) and were younger (p < 0.001) than patients who did not own pets. A preponderance of the genera Serratia and Coprococcus was found in the group of owners, while the genera Ruminococcus, an unknown genus of Enterobacteriaceae and Anaerotruncus were preponderant in the group of non-owners. In patients who owned dogs, Methanobrevibacter and two more genera, Coprococcus and Oscillospira, were more common. Our study suggests that the prevalence of MetS and obesity in CVD patients is lower in pet owners, and that pet ownership could be a protective factor against MetS through the shaping of the gut microbiota. Thus, owning a pet could be considered as a protective factor against cardiometabolic diseases.
Highlights
The One Health concept has been established in recent years to highlight the interaction between people, animals and the environment, reaching with increasing repercussions into the field of public health
The patients were divided into two groups, according to whether they owned a pet or not: the former consisted of 83 patients (72 men and 11 women), while the latter was made up Animals 2021, 11, 2347 of 79 patients (61 men and 18 women)
Considering the potential of different animals to change the human gut microbiota [6,7,30], and the fact that they have been shown to be a protective factor against various diseases such as allergies [39], we explored the specific bacterial differences between the subgroup of patients who only owned dogs, versus the non-pet owners in general
Summary
The One Health concept has been established in recent years to highlight the interaction between people, animals and the environment, reaching with increasing repercussions into the field of public health. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is currently a major world-wide epidemic, and is associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) [2]. Several epidemiological conditions, such as age, ethnicity, gender, diet, physical activity, amongst others, have been linked to MetS [3]. Some evidence suggests that this protection might be due to favorable changes in the intestinal microbiota
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