Having an “anxious personality” may increase the risk of being bitten by a dog, either a strange dog or one in the home, new research suggests.
In an observational survey study of almost 700 individuals in the United Kingdom, those who had higher scores on the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), which measures emotional stability, were at a significantly lower risk of having ever received a bite than those with lower scores, which signify greater levels of anxiety, irritability, and depression.
In fact, “every single point increase in score between 1 and 7 was associated with a 23% decrease in the likelihood of having been bitten,” the investigators note in a press release.
Previous research has shown that most bites come from dogs that are familiar; 55% of the bites in this study came from unfamiliar dogs.
Lead author Carri Westgarth, PhD, Department of Epidemiology and Population Health at the University of Liverpool, Cheshire, United Kingdom, told Medscape Medical News that although the latter finding was surprising, the real significance lies in the personality finding.
“This has never been reported before, and I wasn’t even really looking for that. But to me, how we behave regarding our health is likely to be influenced by our personality,” said Dr Westgarth.
She noted that more research is needed to see whether the results can be replicated using “a more detailed measure of personality.”
The findings were published online February 1 in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Bites and Strikes
Yearly hospital admissions rates for “dog bites and strikes” in England are estimated at 6743. Strikes are nonbite injuries from a dog, but they are often reported as dog bites.
It is estimated that in the United States, there are 9500 hospital admissions for dog bites per year.
“Statistics concerning actual dog bites require clarification. Further, prevalence studies based on hospital admission records do not include likely less serious dog bites which do not require medical treatment or are treated elsewhere, including Accident and Emergency,” the researchers write.
Dr Westgarth said she’s “always been fascinated by the relationship we have with our pets and how living with them might impact our health, such as with dog bites. But surprisingly, there’s little robust scientific research being done around dog bites, particularly around risk factors,” she said.
The investigators also wanted to better determine the number of dog bites received, since previous research has relied on hospital records, “and that’s really just the tip of the iceberg. We wanted to look at all of that in the community.”
The current study was conducted between June and August 2015 in one semirural town in the United Kingdom and included 694 survey respondents (54% women) residing in 385 households.
The survey asked about dog ownership and dog bites, as well as demographic and health factors. The TIPI’s so-called Big Five personality traits were also assessed.
Source of Significant Distress
Results showed that 24.8% of the participants (n = 172) reported receiving a dog bite sometime in their lives. A total of 310 bites were reported. Only 33.1% of these bites required medical treatment, and only 0.6% required hospital admission.
“Although in some senses this is reassuring…, it is also known that even relatively minor bites can cause significant distress to the victim; thus they should not be considered unimportant to prevent,” write the investigators.
The incidence of dog bites was 18.7 per 1000 population per year (95% confidence interval [CI], 11.0 – 31.8). This correlates to 1873 bites per 100,000 population, which is more than 2.5 times greater than a previously cited UK incidence rate of 740 per 100,000.
Among those receiving bites, 60% of the men and 49% of the women reported not knowing the dog previously; 17% and 16%, respectively, reported that the dog was theirs; 14% and 26% reported that the dog was well known; and 9% of each group reported having seen it only briefly, such as on walks.
Only scores on the TIPI’s neuroticism/emotional stability scale showed significant differences. A low score corresponds with “being more irritable, anxious, and depressed, while a high score means the opposite. You’re more stable, you’re calm,” said Dr Westgarth.
In multivariable model A, which assessed ever having been bitten by a dog, scores on the TIPI emotion stability scale showed that each increase by one point “decreased the likelihood of experiencing a bite by 0.77 times,” the investigators report.
More details on model A and model B, which assessed bites occurring in the past 5 years, are shown in the following table.
Table. Multivariable Models of Factors Associated With Dog Bites
| Measure | Model A OR* (95% CI) | Model A P Value | Model B OR (95% CI) | Model B P Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TIPI emotional stability score | 0.77 (0.66 – 0.90) | .001 | 0.66 (0.65 – 0.66) | < .001 |
| *OR, odds ratio | ||||
“However, the findings of [model B] should be interpreted with caution due to small sample size” and other limitations, the researchers note.
Matching previous reports, men were significantly more likely than women to have been bitten during their lifetime (OR, 1.81; P = .005). Also, owning multiple dogs was a significantly greater risk factor than having no dogs (OR, 3.31; P = .03).
Risk Factor Reassessment
Overall, the findings show that “gender, number of dogs, and personality-emotional stability are important factors,” write the investigators.
However, they note that due to the study’s observational design, cause and effect were not determined. Other limitations include that only one county in England was examined and that characteristics of the biting dog, such as breed, were not evaluated.
That said, “It is essential that previously assumed risk factors are reassessed as this study has revealed that prior beliefs, such as bites typically being from familiar dogs, are contested,” write the researchers. “Dog bite prevention schemes may also need to target particular behaviors around dogs by different victim personality types.”
“To me, there is some plausibility that people with different personalities are going to behave in different ways around a dog. But it requires a lot more research at this point,” said Dr Westgarth.
The study was funded by a Medical Research Council Population Health Scientist Fellowship grant. Dr Westgarth has received financial support from the Medical Research Council. She and one of the other two investigators are founding members of the Merseyside Dog Safety Partnership, “an unpaid meeting of stakeholders to discuss local strategy and share resources.” No other relevant financial relationships have been reported.
J Epidemiol Community Health. Published online February 1, 2018. Full article
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