Pets slowed the decline in mental function in their owners
Studies on the positive effects of pets often say they help keep their elderly owners physically healthy. Now American scientists have found that having pets - cats or dogs - is also good for the cognitive abilities of older people.In a new paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, experts reviewed data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) - the largest clinical study of aging in the world, which has been conducted in the United States since 1958. Its participants regularly (every four years or annually for people over 80 years old) underwent an extensive battery of tests to assess cognitive abilities. The complex included the California Verbal Learning Test, Benton's Test of Visual Memory, the Trail-Making Test, the Arithmetic Test, the Boston Naming Test and other techniques.
For analysis, the researchers selected data from 637 BLSA participants aged 51 to 101 years (mean age 75 years). Their follow-up lasted from one year to 13 years. In the sample, 54% were women, and 67% of the subjects had white skin color. In addition, 62% of the people in the study were married, 79% lived in private homes, and 84% had an annual income of more than $50,000.
Of the 637 participants, 185 (29%) reported having pets. Among them 67 people kept cats, 84 - dogs, the rest - other animals. Most dog owners (69%) said they walk their pets.
After studying the test results, the researchers found that mental function declined with age in all subjects without exception. However, there was a clear trend: deterioration was slower in people with pets, with some differences between cat and dog owners.
"Memory, executive function, speech function, psychomotor speed and information processing speed deteriorated less over ten years in participants with pets than in those without pets," the researchers said.
An analysis focusing on dog lovers showed that cognitive decline slowed more in those who walked their pets. The experts also noted that cat owners had less decline in memory and speech functions.
Notably, all of the positive effects persisted even after the scientists made adjustments for the participants' age and health status.
The researchers called their results "important longitudinal evidence" that having pets and walking dogs helps the elderly maintain mental function. According to the scientists, authorities need to encourage people of age to get pets.
This is not the first such study. Previously, scientists have found that having a pet is beneficial for maintaining cognitive function, especially if they have had one for at least five years. In other scientific papers, the authors have shown that pet owners are at lower risk of dying from heart disease, and their children's emotional well-being and social skills were much better than those of their peers growing up in families without pets.