By American Heart Association News October
8, 2019
Letting your health go to the dogs might turn out to be a
great idea: New research bolsters the association between dog ownership and
longer life, especially for people who have had heart attacks or strokes.
Earlier studies have shown dog ownership alleviates social
isolation, improves physical activity and lowers blood pressure. The new work
builds on that, said Dr. Glenn N. Levine, who led a committee that wrote
a 2013
report about pet ownership for the American Heart Association.
"While these non-randomized studies cannot prove that
adopting or owning a dog directly leads to reduced mortality, these robust
findings are certainly at least suggestive of this," he said in a news
release.
The two new studies were published Tuesday in Circulation:
Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
One
study, from Sweden, compared dog owners and non-owners after a heart
attack or stroke. Records of nearly 182,000 people who'd had heart attacks and
nearly 155,000 people who'd had strokes were examined. Dog ownership was
confirmed with data from the Swedish Board of Agriculture, where registration
of dog ownership has been mandatory since 2001, and the Swedish Kennel Club,
where pedigree dogs have been registered since 1889.
When compared with people who didn't own dogs, owners who
lived alone had a 33% lower risk of dying after being hospitalized for a heart
attack. For dog owners who lived with a partner or child, the risk was 15% lower.
Dog-owning stroke survivors saw a similar benefit. The risk
of death after hospitalization for those who lived alone was 27% lower. It was
12% lower if they lived with a partner or child.
What's behind the canine advantage?
"We know that social isolation is a strong risk factor
for worse health outcomes and premature death," said study co-author Dr.
Tove Fall, a doctor of veterinary medicine and a professor at Uppsala
University in Sweden. "Previous studies have indicated that dog owners experience
less social isolation and have more interaction with other people. Furthermore,
keeping a dog is a good motivation for physical activity, which is an important
factor in rehabilitation and mental health."
The second
set of researchers reviewed patient data from more than 3.8
million people in 10 separate studies.
Compared to non-owners, dog owners had a 24% reduced risk of
dying from any cause; a 31% reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular-related
issues; and a 65% reduced risk dying after a heart attack.
The study did not account for factors such as better fitness
or an overall healthier lifestyle that could be associated with dog ownership,
said co-author Dr. Caroline Kramer, an endocrinologist and clinician scientist
at Leadership Sinai Centre for Diabetes at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.
"The results, however, were very positive."
As a dog owner herself, Kramer said adopting her miniature
Schnauzer, Romeo, "increased my steps and physical activity each day, and
he has filled my daily routine with joy and unconditional love."
Tove, however, cautioned more research needs to be done
before people are prescribed dogs for health reasons. "Moreover, from an
animal welfare perspective, dogs should only be acquired by people who feel
they have the capacity and knowledge to give the pet a good life."
If you have questions or comments about this story, please
email editor@heart.org.
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