Older Adults and the Benefits of Long-Term Pet Ownership
Good news for older adults who own a pet! A new study indicates that owning a pet for over five years may help cognitive skills stay sharp as we age.
Researchers found that adults ages 50 or older who had owned a pet of any kind for more than five years showed slower decline in verbal memory over time compared to non-pet owners.
The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Florida, University of Michigan, and Virginia Commonwealth University.
Jennifer Applebaum, lead author of the study, states, “We can’t show that this is causal but it does show that pets could buffer or have a protective effect on older adults’ cognition and we think it has to do with some of the mechanisms related to stress buffering.”
This is the first study to examine the impact of pet ownership over time on cognitive function among a national sample of U.S. adults ages 50 or older. The 1,300 people studied are participants in the Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal survey that is tracking 20,000 adults to learn about aging-related issues.
The average age of those included was 65, 53% of which owned pets, with nearly one-third owning pets for more than five years. While all types of pets were included in the study, dogs were the most prevalent, followed by cats.
Over six years, cognitive scores declined slower in pet owners and were the strongest in long-term pet owners.
A positive relationship with a pet is thought to buffer stress via emotional support, which also may promote healthy cognitive aging. Taking care of a pet – walking a dog, feeding a cat – also boosts physical activity, which is linked to cognitive health.
According to the authors of the study, “These findings provide early evidence to suggest that long-term pet ownership could be protective against cognitive decline, providing a novel and fundamental step to examine how sustained relationships with companion animals contribute to brain health.”
Older adults – it may be beneficial to adopt a pet today!
Submitted by Larry L. Hansen, Owner/Licensed Funeral Director
The Pet Cremation Center of Southern Utah provides premier pet cremation services in Washington and Iron Counties and Mesquite, NV. Contact us for all of your pet cremation needs at (435) 523-4800, or visit us at 1316 S. 400 E., Ste. A3, in St. George. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @PetCremationCenterSU
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