{"id":1700,"date":"2020-01-04T11:25:14","date_gmt":"2020-01-04T11:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/khoo.com.au\/?p=1700"},"modified":"2020-01-04T11:38:30","modified_gmt":"2020-01-04T11:38:30","slug":"do-pet-ownership-really-reduce-mortality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/khoo.com.au\/index.php\/2020\/01\/04\/do-pet-ownership-really-reduce-mortality\/","title":{"rendered":"Do pet ownership really reduce mortality?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Anecdotal evidence suggests that having a pet reduces cardiovascular mortality. Does it? You can imagine that trying to conduct a scientific can be difficult. There are many factors to consider: pre-existing risks profile of the pet owner, physical activity before and after pet ownership, marital status of the owner. Do pet ownership benefit men or women more? Well, the evidence is rather conflicting though. It is still worthwhile examining the evidence because if the benefits are there, we should be recommending pet ownership to many of all of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The potential health benefits of dog ownership have been described for several decades, and thought to result from dog-human interactions, companionship and interaction, especially among older adults [1-4]. It is presumed that this social support leads to reduced loneliness and improved cardiovascular health, possibly partly mediated through reductions in blood pressure (5) or via stress reduction [1,6], possibly through oxytocin effects [7]. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the primarily rural\nbased, Norwegian Nord-Tr\u00f8ndelag HUNT Study, 53,418 participants were followed\nup on average for 18.5 years. Living in a household with a dog was not\nassociated with a reduction in mortality. In this population, dog owners and\nnon-dog owners did not differ in their physical activity levels. Dog ownership\nmay not automatically lead to increase in physical activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only do the Swedes\nkeep a complete medical database of its population, since January 2001, every\ndog in Sweden has a unique identifier complete with a certified pedigree. How\ngood is that? In a nationwide cohort study, among ~3.5 million people, 13.1%\nwere identified as dog owners during a 12 year study period (9). Dog ownership\nwas associated with reduced risk of acute myocardial infarction, ischemic\nstroke, heart failure, and composite CVD. Interestingly but not unexpectedly,\nthey found ownership of a dog from breeds originally bred for hunting\n(including terriers, retrievers, scent hounds and related dogs) was associated\nwith a lower risk of CVD. Perhaps, owners of these breeds were more physically\nactive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, when investigators looked at six cohort of the Health Survey for England (between 1995-2004), they found no evidence for an association between living in a household with a dog and all-cause or cardiovascular disease mortality. Of note though, while dog owners reported more vigorous physical activity than non-dog owners, dog owners were also more likely to smoke (10). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like the Swedes, the\nDanish also have unique identifiers for both humans and animals. In a\npopulation based case control study, 275,184 people were studied over  (11). 8% were dog owners, Dog owners were\nyounger (mean 68 years) than non-dog onwers (mean 77 years). Dog ownership was associated\nwith an overall 8% reduction in mortality. The reduction was more stark in people\nwithout a spouse (14% reduction). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps, we are not\nseeing benefits of dog ownership in the general population. What about patients\nwho are at high risk of cardiovascular events? What about patients who already\nhave an acute cardiovascular event? Mubunga et al used the Swedish National\nPatient Registry to identify individuals who had just suffered either an acute\nAMI or ischaemic stroke and looked at all cause mortality and recurrent\nadmissions for the same cause. Dog owners had a lower risk of death after AMI\n(HR of 0.67 for those living alone and HR 0.85 for those living with a partner\nor child). For ischaemic strokes the HR were dog owners were 0.73 and 0.88\nrespectively for those without spouse and for those with a spouse or child. There\nwas also a reduction in hospitalisation for recurrent myocardial infarction (HR\n0.93) amongst dog owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Kramer et al search\nfor all studies between 1950 and May 2019, they yielded 10 studies. They\nperformed a meta-analysis and found that dog ownership was associated with a\n24% risk reduction for all-cause mortality as compared to non-ownership. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the evidence of\nbenefits of dog ownership is conflicting, it would seem plausible that dog\nownership confers cardiovascular benefit especially if dog owner ship results\nin increased physical activity. The evidence of benefits is stronger in patients\nwith establish cardiovascular diseases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dog ownership can also lead to some regimentation of routine forcing owners to wake up at set time (try sleeping in when you have a dog!). There may be other calming benefits with dog ownership resulting in lower blood pressure, heart rates and possibly lipid profiles. Improvements in mental health by having a companion may lead to lower rates of depression, decreased lonliness and increased self-esteem. This may explained the better outcomes among dog owners without a spouse or child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adopting a dog is a much larger undertaking than embarking on a new medical therapy. Adding a 4-legged member to the family involves long-term commitment, often substantial lifestyle changes and financial costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Serpell J (1991) Beneficial effects of pet\nownership on some aspects of human health and behaviour. Journal of the Royal\nSociety of Medicine 84: 717\u2013720. pmid:1774745<\/li>
  2. Cherniack EP, Cherniack AR (2014) The benefit\nof pets and animal-assisted therapy to the health of older individuals. Current\nGerontology and Geriatrics Research 2014.<\/li>
  3. Toohey AM, McCormack GR, Doyle-Baker PK, Adams\nCL, Rock MJ (2013) Dog-walking and sense of community in neighborhoods:\nImplications for promoting regular physical activity in adults 50 years and\nolder. Health and Place 22: 75\u201381. <\/li>
  4. Cutt H, Giles-Corti B, Knuiman M, Burke V (2007\nMar) Dog ownership, health and physical activity: A critical review of the\nliterature. Health Place 13: 261\u2013272.<\/li>
  5. Headey B (1999) Health benefits and health cost\nsavings due to pets: preliminary estimates from an Australian national survey.\nSocial Indicators Research 47: 233\u2013243.<\/li>
  6. Dembicki D, Anderson J (1996) Pet ownership may\nbe a factor in improved health of the elderly. Journal of Nutrition for the\nElderly 15: 15\u201331.<\/li>
  7. Matchock RL (2015) Pet ownership and physical\nhealth. Current Opinion in Psychiatry 28: 386\u2013392. pmid:26164613<\/li>
  8. Torske MO, Krokstad S, Stamatakis E, Bauman A\n(2017) Dog ownership and all-cause mortality in a population cohort in Norway:\nThe HUNT study. PLoS ONE 12(6): e0179832. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0179832<\/a><\/li>
  9. Mubanga, M., Byberg, L., Nowak, C. et\nal. Dog ownership and the risk of cardiovascular disease and death \u2013 a\nnationwide cohort study. Sci Rep 7, 15821 (2017)\ndoi:10.1038\/s41598-017-16118-6<\/li>
  10. Ding D, Bauman AE, Sherrington C, McGreevy PD,\nEdwards KM, Stamatakis E. Dog Ownership and Mortality in England: A Pooled\nAnalysis of Six Population-based Cohorts. Am J Prev Med.\n2018;54(2):289\u2013293. doi:10.1016\/j.amepre.2017.09.012<\/li>
  11. Ivalu Katajavaara S\u00f8rensen, Pernille Envold\nBidstrup, Naja Hulvej Rod, Tjorben R\u00fchling, Christoffer Johansen, Is dog\nownership associated with mortality? A nationwide registry study, European\nJournal of Public Health, Volume 28, Issue 6, December 2018, Pages 1169\u20131171 <\/li>
  12. Kramer, Caroline K. MD, PhD; Mehmood, Sadia\nBSc; Suen, Renee S. Dog Ownership and Survival: A Systematic Review and\nMeta-Analysis. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. Volume\n12(10), October 2019<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Anecdotal evidence suggests that having a pet reduces cardiovascular mortality. Does it? You can imagine that trying to conduct a scientific can be difficult. There are many factors to consider: pre-existing risks profile of the pet owner, physical activity before and after pet ownership, marital status of the owner. Do pet ownership benefit men or women more? Well, the evidence is rather conflicting though. It is still worthwhile examining the evidence because if the benefits are there, we should be recommending pet ownership to many of all of you.Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1701,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["entry","author-chee1404","has-excerpt","post-1700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-genmed"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/khoo.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/khoo.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/khoo.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/khoo.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/khoo.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1700"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/khoo.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1706,"href":"https:\/\/khoo.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1700\/revisions\/1706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/khoo.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/khoo.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/khoo.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/khoo.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}