Emerging Cardiovascular Risk Research: Impact of Pets on Cardiovascular Risk Prevention

Abstract

Animals interact with humans in multiple ways, including as therapy and service animals, commercially as livestock, as wildlife, and in zoos. But the most common interaction is as companion animals in our homes, with an estimated 180 million cats and dogs living in US households. While pet ownership has been reported to have many health benefits, the findings are inconsistent. Cardiovascular risk factors such as lipids, glucose, obesity, and heart rate variability have improved, worsened, or remained the same in the limited number of studies considering companion animals. Physical activity increases have more consistently been linked with dog ownership, although whether this reflects antecedent motivation or direct benefit from the dog is unclear. Allergies and asthma also are variably linked to pet ownership and are confounded by family history of atopy and timing of exposure to pet dander. The benefits of companion animals are most likely to be through reduction in depression, anxiety, and social isolation, but these studies have been largely cross-sectional and may depend on degree of bonding of the owner with the animal. Positive relationships show measurably higher oxytocin with lower cortisol and alpha-amylase levels. Finally, pet ownership is also a marker of better socioeconomic status and family stability, and if companion animals are to provide cardiovascular risk benefit, the route should perhaps be through improved education and opportunity for ownership.

The State of Research on Human–Animal Relations: Implications for Human Health

“…Some studies point to a preventative role of pet ownership in the development of CVD (see Schreiner, 2016). For example, systolic blood pressure was found to be significantly lower in a sample of pet owners than non-owners attending an Australian screening clinic for heart disease, even when controlling for body mass index and other health-related variables, for example, propensity to smoke (Anderson, Reid, & Jennings, 1992).…”

The Effect of Animal-Assisted Therapy on the State of Patients’ Health After a Stroke: A Pilot Study

“…Studies have revealed that the presence of an animal can reduce the activity of the sympathetic nervous system, thus diminishing the risk of physical and mental stress [7]. Tsai et al [8] observed that heart rate and blood pressure decreased in the presence of a dog [9,10], as well as the opportunity for decrease in the cortisol blood level [11]. Presence of a dog during therapy could also leads to a reduction in the physical and mental pain subjectively perceived by the patient at a given moment [12].…”

Association between dog ownership and type 2 diabetes in later life: the Helsinki birth cohort study

“…Dog ownership or walking a dog seems to associate with additional physical activity or higher levels of physical activity in children as well as in adults [6][7][8][9]. Further, pet ownership may have a beneficial influence on psychological stress and symptoms of depression [10][11][12]. Both a physically active lifestyle and emotional well-being are known to associate with a reduced risk for T2D [13,14].…”