By Zoe Sky | Natural News
(Natural News) Aside from being man’s best friend, it looks like dogs can help singles live longer.
Based on data from a study, British pet owners allegedly reduce early death rates by as much as 36 percent.
The connection between dogs and decreased risk of premature death
Researchers from Uppsala University, Sweden, studied health records and dog ownership information from seven registries on individuals aged 40 to 80 with no history of heart disease. The study’s participants were observed between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2012, or until they died, if this occurred earlier.
Lead junior author Mwenya Mubanga said, “A very interesting finding in our study was dog ownership was especially prominent as a protective factor in persons living alone, which is a group reported previously to be at higher risk of cardiovascular disease and death than those living in a multi-person household…Perhaps a dog may stand in as an important family member in the single households.” (Related: Pets Can Improve Your Health and Aid in Recovery.)
Professor Tove Fall, the study’s senior author, shared that singles who owned dogs may walk more and have increased interaction with others because of their pets. She adds that while research has long associated dog ownership with good health, this study is 100 times larger than any previous trial.
Since dog owners, in general, have a higher level of physical activity, this could be one of the reasons behind the observed results. Other explanations could be “increased well-being and social contacts” or the dog’s effects on the bacterial microbiome (gut bacteria) of the owner. She adds that dogs can help reduce cardiovascular risk by being “a non-human form of social support and increasing physical activity.”
She also mentioned that dog ownership is linked to easing the feeling of social isolation and an improved perception of well-being, especially in singles and the elderly. Fall added, “One mechanism by which dog ownership could reduce cardiovascular disease risk and mortality is by alleviating psychosocial stress factors, such as social isolation, depression, and loneliness — all reportedly lower in dog owners…These factors have been linked to increased risk of coronary heart disease, cardiovascular death, and all-cause mortality.”
Data from the Campaign to End Loneliness reveals that almost 1.1 million people aged over 65 in the United Kingdom are chronically lonely and are at risk of developing heart disease and dementia. Heart disease causes more than a quarter of all deaths in the U.K., including around 42,000 fatalities in individuals under 75. Meanwhile, heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide and it accounted for 45 percent (more than four million) of fatalities in Europe in 2016.
