Urinary oxytocin levels in children meeting a Hospital Dog^®.

IF 3.4 2区医学 Q1 INTEGRATIVE & COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE

BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies Pub Date : 2025-09-08 DOI:10.1186/s12906-025-05076-6

A Risberg, A Larsson, U Bodén, A Edner

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Abstract

There has been growing interest in animal-assisted therapy (AAT) in recent decades due to increasing reports indicating its health benefits for adult patients. These benefits are partly attributed to changes, usually increased levels of the neuropeptide oxytocin. AIM: To investigate changes in oxytocin levels in hospitalized children meeting a certified Hospital Dog^®.

Method: Urine samples were collected between 25/02/2016 and 24/05/2017 from 35 hospitalized children (3-17 years) before and after each participant had a session with the Hospital Dog^®. Oxytocin levels were analysed with an acetylcholinesterase (AChE) competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Creatinine levels were measured to determine the subject's fluid intake and then divided by the hormonal concentration (uOT pg/ml).

Results: The mean level of uOT was 186.0 ± 236.7 (51.5-1349.5) pg/ml before and 137.3 ± 121.5 (30.7-591.3) pg/ml after the dog session (p = 0.010).

Conclusion: Decreased levels of uOT were recorded during the study in which hospitalized children met a Hospital Dog^®. The decreased OT levels are potentially the result of the intense activity the subject experienced with the dog during the interaction.

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儿童尿中催产素水平与医院狗®。

近几十年来，由于越来越多的报道表明动物辅助疗法对成年患者的健康有益，人们对动物辅助疗法（AAT）的兴趣日益浓厚。这些好处部分归因于变化，通常是神经肽催产素水平的增加。目的：探讨住院儿童在接受医院犬认证后催产素水平的变化。方法：于2016年2月25日至2017年5月24日期间，收集35名住院儿童（3-17岁）的尿液样本，并于每位参与者与Hospital Dog®进行一次会面前后收集尿液样本。采用乙酰胆碱酯酶（AChE）竞争酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）分析催产素水平。测量肌酐水平以确定受试者的液体摄入量，然后除以激素浓度（uOT pg/ml）。结果：犬疗前uOT平均水平为186.0±236.7 (51.5-1349.5)pg/ml，犬疗后uOT平均水平为137.3±121.5 (30.7-591.3)pg/ml （p = 0.010）。结论：在研究中，住院儿童与Hospital Dog®接触时，记录了uOT水平的降低。OT水平的下降可能是受试者在与狗互动期间经历的强烈活动的结果。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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