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 "We studied more than 3 million people, and the results are very
significant," Dr. Caroline K. Kramer of the University of Toronto
Leadership Sinai Centre for Diabetes at Mt Sinai Hospital told
Reuters Health by phone.
People who own dogs have lower blood pressure, healthier cholesterol
levels and a milder stress response than those with canine-free
homes, Kramer and her team note in the journal Circulation:
Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. Having a pet - even just a
cricket in a cage - is also known to relieve stress, anxiety,
depression, loneliness and social isolation. But studies looking at
whether having a dog extends survival have had mixed results.
To investigate, Kramer's team searched through medical literature
dating back to 1950 and found 10 studies of dog ownership and
survival including a total of 3.8 million people.
Overall, dog owners were 24% less likely to die over the next decade
than non-dog owners. People who'd suffered a heart attack or other
cardiovascular event had a 65% reduced risk of dying over the next
decade if they owned a dog. Dog ownership reduced overall mortality
from cardiovascular causes by 31%.
Increased physical activity plays a key role in the cardiovascular
benefits of dog ownership, said Kramer, noting that her own step
count has climbed "sky high" since she adopted Romeo, an energetic
miniature schnauzer that she walks at least three times a day.
In another study in the same issue of the journal, Dr. Tove Fall of
Uppsala University in Sweden and her colleagues looked at 181,696
people who had a heart attack between 2001 and 2012, and 154,617
who'd suffered a stroke over the same period. The heart attack
patients who owned a dog and lived alone had a 33% lower risk of
having another heart attack, while the risk was reduced by 15% for
those who lived with a dog plus a partner or child. For stroke
patients living solo, the risk of another stroke was 27% lower,
while repeat stroke risk was 12% lower for dog owners who didn't
live alone.
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"Given the magnitude of the potential benefit - and likely little or
no harm - these findings should encourage clinicians to discuss pet
adoption with their patients, particularly those with preexisting
cardiovascular disease and those living by themselves," Dr. Dhruv S.
Kazi of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston writes in an
editorial accompanying the study.
"We've known this forever, that pets make our lives better, but to
know that the sum of it translates to better cardiovascular health
is very exciting for those of us who like dogs and work in
cardiology," Kazi said in a phone interview. "I've wanted a dog for
40 years, and the data finally convinced me."
Before adopting a dog, Kramer and Kazi agree, it's essential to make
sure you have the resources to care for it properly. "One has to
make space in one's life to be able to accommodate them before
making that leap of faith," Kazi said.
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/30VuO8z , https://bit.ly/2OrbOfH and https://bit.ly/2LWD2Jd
Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, online October 8,
2019.
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