Animal Assisted Activities (AAAs) with the Dogs in a Dialysis Centre in Southern Italy: evaluation of serotonin and oxytocin values in involved patients

Abstract Background: In the present study, the changes in oxytocin (OXT) and serotonin (5-ht) were measured in dialysis patients involved in Animal Assisted Activity (AAA) interventions. Methods: Thirty patients (15 men and 15 women) with chronic kidney disease, undergoing hemodialysis three times per week, for 4 hours were enrolled. The patients were at random divided into 3 groups: 2 experimental groups who received the AAA intervention and a control group who never received the AAA intervention. A specific dog-zootherapist vet pair was assigned for each experimental group. All sessions of the two experimental groups were weekly performed, for a total period of 3 months (12 sessions). Blood samples were taken at the beginning and end of each session (T₀ and T₁), lasting about one hour. The samples were then analyzed to measure the levels of oxytocin and serotonin. Data obtained were processed using analysis of variance with mixed effects models. Results: The emerged results showed that both dog-zootherapist vet dyad caused a statistically significant overall effect of both oxytocin and serotonin, increasing during the sessions, compared to the control group. In addition, it was observed progressively increasing effect between two consecutive weeks. Conclusion: The results that emerged showed that the AAA represents a positive stimulus for patients on dialysis. Thus, our study suggests that structured AAA intervention in a hemodialysis center can improve patients' quality of life.