{"id":53027,"date":"2017-11-17T12:28:04","date_gmt":"2017-11-17T12:28:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=53027"},"modified":"2017-11-17T12:28:04","modified_gmt":"2017-11-17T12:28:04","slug":"dog-owners-have-lower-mortality-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/health\/dog-owners-have-lower-mortality-study-finds.html","title":{"rendered":"Dog owners have lower mortality, study finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dog owners have lower mortality, study finds<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Dog owners have a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease or other causes, a study of 3.4 million Swedes has found.<\/span><\/p>\n

The team analysed national registries for people aged 40 to 80, and compared them to dog ownership registers.<\/span><\/p>\n

They found there was a lower risk of cardiovascular disease in owners of dogs, particularly of hunting breeds.<\/span><\/p>\n

While owning a dog may help physical activity, researchers said it may be active people who choose to own dogs.<\/span><\/p>\n

They also said owning a dog may protect people from cardiovascular disease by increasing their social contact or wellbeing, or by changing the owner’s bacterial microbiome.<\/span><\/p>\n

The microbiome is the collection of microscopic species that live in the gut. It’s thought a dog may influence its owner’s microbiomes as dogs change the dirt in home environments, exposing people to bacteria they may not have encountered otherwise.<\/span><\/p>\n

The researchers said dogs had a particularly protective effect for those who live alone.<\/span><\/p>\n

“The results showed that single dog owners had a 33% reduction in risk of death and 11% reduction in risk of heart attack,” compared to single non-owners, said lead study author Mwenya Mubanga of Uppsala University.<\/span><\/p>\n

People who live alone have been shown previously to be at a higher risk of cardiovascular death.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr Mubanga said: “Perhaps a dog may stand in as an important family member in the single households.”<\/span><\/p>\n

For their study, published in Scientific Reports, the team looked at data from 2001 to 2012. In Sweden, every visit to a hospital is recorded in national databases – while dog ownership registration has been mandatory since 2001.<\/span><\/p>\n

Owning a dog from breeds originally bred for hunting, such as terriers, retrievers and scent hounds, was associated with the lowest risk of cardiovascular disorder.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr Mike Knapton of the British Heart Foundation, said: “Owning a dog is associated with reduced mortality and risk of having heart disease. Previous studies have shown this association but have not been as conclusive – largely due to the population size studied here.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Dog ownership has many benefits, and we may now be able to count better heart health as one of them.<\/span><\/p>\n

“However, as many dog owners may agree, the main reason for owning a dog is the sheer joy.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Whether you’re a dog owner or not, keeping active is a great way to help improve your heart health.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Tove Fall, senior author of the study, said there were some limitations: “These kind of epidemiological studies look for associations in large populations but do not provide answers on whether and how dogs could protect from cardiovascular disease.<\/span><\/p>\n

“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.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/health-42009932<\/span><\/p>\n

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