DOGS AND HEART HEALTH
Dog
owners know how much warmth and comfort their canine companions add to
their lives. A growing body of research shows they can do more than
that.
The Harvard Medical School Health Report, Get Healthy, Get a Dog,
discusses how having a dog can prompt you to be more active, help calm
jagged nerves, and reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness. Just
petting a dog can lower blood pressure and heart rate (while having a
positive effect on the dog as well). A new Swedish epidemiological study
in Scientific Reports finds it may cut your risk of death from
cardiovascular disease.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is
the leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 45% of all deaths.
Having diabetes means that you are more likely to develop heart disease
and have a greater chance of a heart attack or a stroke. As well as a
combination of healthy low GI eating, regular physical activity and
appropriate medication (and quitting smoking, if you do), there’s a
growing body of evidence suggesting having a dog can be good for your
heart.
Swedish scientists, who used national registries
of more than 3.4 million Swedes aged 40 to 80, found that dog ownership
had a dramatic effect on people who live alone, cutting the risk of
death from cardiovascular disease by 36%. In households with more people
under the same roof, dogs had less of a positive impact, but still
lowered deaths from heart disease by 15%. (Just over 13% of those in the
study had dogs.) “If you have a dog you neutralise the effects of
living alone” said Tove Fall, professor of epidemiology at Uppsala
University.
The researchers analysed the effects of
different breeds and found that owners of dogs originally bred for
hunting, such as terriers, retrievers, and scent hounds, had the lowest
risk of cardiovascular disease. People who buy hunting dogs may be more
physically active in the first place, because the dogs require so much
exercise. The relationship may work both ways though, with livelier dogs
effectively demanding that their owners do not slip into an
overly-sedentary lifestyle.
“These kinds of
epidemiological studies look for associations in large populations but
do not provide answers on whether and how dogs could protect from
cardiovascular disease. We know that dog owners in general have a higher
level of physical activity, which could be one explanation to the
observed results. Other explanations include an increased well-being and
social contacts or effects of the dog on the bacterial microbiome in
the owner. My impression is that this has to do with social support,”
said Fall. One key question is whether dogs protect humans against heart
disease by reducing blood pressure or through some other effect.
“It
may be that dog owners like to be outdoors more, or are more organised,
or more empathic,” Fall said. “There might also be differences between
owners and non-owners already before buying a dog, which could have
influenced our results, such as those people choosing to get a dog
tending to be more active and of better health.”
A recent article in The Conversation, Can pets create health in humans?
says: “A study known as the “blue zone” study has focused on factors
affecting longevity for over a decade. Nine factors have been identified
as increasing lifespan in the communities studied, and many of these
factors are increased by pets.” They include natural everyday movement,
having a sense of purpose, regular destressing activities, belonging and
commitment.
The bottom line from Harvard Health: Don't
add a dog to your life if you're not ready or able to take care of one,
and prepared to make sure it gets enough exercise. The potential
benefits for your heart health are a plus.
Read more:
- Dog ownership and the risk of cardiovascular disease and death – a nationwide cohort study (Mwenya Mubanga, Liisa Byberg, Christoph Nowak, Agneta Egenvall, Patrik K Magnusson, Erik Ingelsson, and Tove Fall, Uppsala University)
- Four ways having a pet increases your lifespan (The Conversation)
- Get Healthy, Get a Dog (Harvard Medical School Health Report)
