My Dog May Be Good for My Health
I admit it: My 4-pound toy poodle, Sage, wears sweaters and T-shirts. Riding in a shoulder bag designed for little dogs like him, he has grown used to accompanying me everywhere: to family cookouts, the supermarket, the post office, even to the mall. I like having him around. As a medical reporter, I'm a bit skeptical when I see reports like the one last month that showed that owning a cat lowers your risk of heart attack. But as Sage's doting owner, I find the growing body of research into the health benefits of having a pet intriguing, to say the least.
Given that people do gain healthwise from having a strong social network, it makes sense that having an animal companion would also do some good, says Alan Beck, a professor and director of the Center for the Human-Animal Bond at the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine. "Do animals cure everything? Of course not," Beck says. But people relate to animals by nurturing, caring for, and talking to them—much as they do with other humans, so "it's not surprising that people who have relationships with animals actually report benefits," he says.
Research has linked pet ownership to reduced stress and lower blood pressure, for example. And the cat study presented at the American Stroke Association conference in February was based on data from the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Study, a large assessment of cardiovascular risk factors with 10 years of follow-up. About 55 percent of the 4,435 study participants reported past or present cat ownership; researchers found they had 30 percent reduction in risk of heart attack compared with non-cat people,"even after adjusting for classic cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, cigarette smoking, and high cholesterol," says study author Adnan I. Qureshi, professor of neurology, neurosurgery, and radiology at the University of Minnesota.
Another new study, published in March in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, found that nursing home residents are helped by pet visits even when the pet is fake. Researchers analyzed how effectively a living, 40-pound, mixed-breed dog eased residents' loneliness compared with a robotic dog during weekly 30-minute visits over eight weeks. The groups who received visits from the real and robotic dogs both reported being less lonely (and about equally so) than residents who didn't get pet visits. "We realized [that] the animal-human bond is very important," says study author William A. Banks, a professor of geriatric medicine at St. Louis University. And the findings suggest that "re-establishing that [bond] can decrease loneliness."
Not all research findings on pets are positive. A 2006 study in the journal PloS ONE found that Finnish pet owners tend to be more overweight than those who don't own pets. "Pet owners had a slightly higher BMI [body mass index] than the rest," the study reports, "which indicates that people having a pet (particularly a dog) could use some exercise." But, the authors speculated, it could be that pet owners in the study tended to be older and less educated.
And the jury is still out on whether pets protect or harm those at risk for developing allergies and asthma. A 2001 review found that pet exposure seems to up the risk of wheezing and asthma in older children, but there was a lower—and perhaps protective—effect of owning a pet observed in younger children. A 2004 study found that asthma, skin allergy, and rhinitis were more common in families with pets than in those without.
When I think of my own family and our extensive pet-owning history, I wonder if there's some merit to the latter studies. My younger brothers and older sister all have asthma and mild allergies. And I'm asthmatic and extremely allergic to cats, mold, trees, grasses, dust—and, even mildly, to dogs. Although poodles, luckily, seem to only make me feel good.
WTOP Audio
On March 15, 2008, January discussed on WTOP Radio News the potential health benefits of owning a pet animal. Listen to the radio interview at WTOP News.
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Reader Comments
Pets and Health
Are you kidding ?
Just watching those great dog stories on Animal Planet calms me down, and since I pulled CNN from my TV's "favorites menu" I've been a new man.
Rob.
Pets - Dogs
I love my two boys! ...the 4 legged kind :)
dogs everywhere
"...he has grown used to accompanying me everywhere: to family cookouts, the supermarket, the post office, even to the mall"
I find it rude to take your dog where it does not belong -- supermarkets, etc. There are laws for a reason and "sneaking"dogs into those places (markets, motels, restaurants, etc.) in your oversize bag is disrespecful of the other customers. Not everyone likes your dog and you should respect their feelings, too.
pets are fantastic for antidepressants
Hello fellow sufferers!!! I have had Bipolar disease for 33 years. I have loved all kinds of terriers and birds. I enjoy them waking me up in the morning and getting me out of bed. I don't know what I would do without the mess of a terrier. Fill in the holes in my lawn . can anyone tell me if small tires are safe for dogs to chew on. My dog whitey chewed the bottoms of my drapes so that he could see outside. He is most intelligent pet I ever had. I might write a book on him. First he started bringing his lease to take him then he brang my socks,pants and hooded sweat shirt to me. I have a Humane society building down the block from me. They asked me if I would like a twin companion for my dog. I told them no thanks. My neighborhood can't handle another one. BYE BYE
Letter to the editor- "My dog may be good for my health"
Dear January Payne,
I am Hannah and I am a sophomore in high school in the chicago land area. I am writing you to share my thought and opinions on your latest article, “My Dog May Be Good for My Health,” dated March 7, 2008. When I first saw this article I knew it would be perfect for an upcoming project in my Contemporary Issues class. I chose this article, because of my love for animals. I have grown up with having cats all my life, and I feel that having a companion is a necessity to live a healthy life. I think that all nursing homes should have daily visits with animals; it will give them something to look forward to and, a companion to cheer them up. In this article it stated that pet ownership has been linked to reduced stress levels and blood pressure. I wasn’t surprised with this statistic at all, and I strongly agree. I think the bond with a human and an animal can be stronger then any relationship out there, you will stick with this companion for several years just like a child.
I strongly I agree with many of the points given in this article, however there are some that I don’t fully agree with. I disagree with the statement that says pet owners are more over weight compared to people that don’t own pets. Owning a pet keeps you more active, however there seems to be a high increase in pets that are over weight today. There are so many pet owners out there, which I don’t think you can relate weight to the topic of owning an animal. Also, results have showed that asthma was found more with pet owners, then anyone else. I don’t agree that your allergies will be affected later in life when your pet is gone. Once you have allergies, you’re not going to randomly form new ones even after living with that certain pet for several years. In my contemporary issues class we have touched on new findings about pets, and how they are good for humans to own.
I want to thank you for reading my letter, and for your consideration of publishing this comment. I feel that today teens play a large role in voicing their opinions on current issues. Being a sophomore in high school, I feel that it’s important to be aware what is going on around the world today. Teens today are getting more involved in what’s going on around the world, then ever before. It is important that our thoughts be heard, because we are the generation of tomorrow. I want to thank you again for taking time out of your day to read my letter, and I hope to read more of your articles in the near future.
Sincerely,
A sophmore high school student
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Pets Good For Your Health
I believe that dogs are good for one's health 100%. When my mother was three years of age she always had a dog. When she married and had her children she always had at least one dog in our family. As we grew older, the number of pets grew from one to at least three in the family. From the time I was a todler to the present; our family has owned a total of sixteen dogs. Each dog's date of birth and date of death was marked and entered into our pet book.
At the present, we own six dogs. To become a dog owner is a person who is been showered with blessings from God above! Dogs love you for WHO you are, not WHAT you have. Dogs give unconditional love! And while the responsibility can sometimes give one a headache; the joy of ownership is measured in complete devotion of the dog to his or her owner! Having had dogs since I was a child I can say.....God provided dogs as a way as an emotional outlet for loneliness and depression. And it is from my own personal experience that dogs understand more about human inneundo's, language, vocabulary, non-verbal body language to a remarkable degree that can be described as on a "spiritual plane". Ask any child psychologist as to what kind of therapy for children would be considered the best overall therapy and most child pschiatrists would recommend "pet therapy". Unconditional love, understanding, companionship 24/7 and someone who is always ready to listen to your problems, your fears, and your victories or happy memories! I guess I will ALWAYS have a dog! Besides, they are always there when you need them the most, and rest assured, they never let your down! If I would ever meet someone my pet did not like.......I will trust my pet's judgement! They are always right!
I can not feel sympathy towards those who do not like animals or would take the time to welcome animals into their lives! The benefits of having dogs (or cats, or horses) is just beginning to be seen through the lenses of the scientists. But God Almighty and those who have always had a dog in their household know that dogs are gifts from Him to those who treasure the love and daily companionship which dogs give to their owners.....no questions asked 24/7 !!!!!!!
Mar 08, 2008 19:46:27 PM [permalink] [report comment]