Health in older cat and dog owners: The Nord-Trondelag Health Study (HUNT)-3 study

Enmarker, Ingela; Ekker, Knut; Berg, Anne Grethe

doi:10.1177/1403494812465031

Cited by 36 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…But not all studies have reached similar conclusions, and the role of pets and human health remains controversial with multiple studies reporting inconclusive results [54], [59], [65], [66], [73]–[80]. For example, one study found a substantial survival benefit after myocardial infarction for dog owners but not cat owners.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Describing the Relationship between Cat Bites and Human Depression Using Data from an Electronic Health Record

2013

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Data mining approaches have been increasingly applied to the electronic health record and have led to the discovery of numerous clinical associations. Recent data mining studies have suggested a potential association between cat bites and human depression. To explore this possible association in more detail we first used administrative diagnosis codes to identify patients with either depression or bites, drawn from a population of 1.3 million patients. We then conducted a manual chart review in the electronic health record of all patients with a code for a bite to accurately determine which were from cats or dogs. Overall there were 750 patients with cat bites, 1,108 with dog bites, and approximately 117,000 patients with depression. Depression was found in 41.3% of patients with cat bites and 28.7% of those with dog bites. Furthermore, 85.5% of those with both cat bites and depression were women, compared to 64.5% of those with dog bites and depression. The probability of a woman being diagnosed with depression at some point in her life if she presented to our health system with a cat bite was 47.0%, compared to 24.2% of men presenting with a similar bite. The high proportion of depression in patients who had cat bites, especially among women, suggests that screening for depression could be appropriate in patients who present to a clinical provider with a cat bite. Additionally, while no causative link is known to explain this association, there is growing evidence to suggest that the relationship between cats and human mental illness, such as depression, warrants further investigation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Describing the Relationship between Cat Bites and Human Depression Using Data from an Electronic Health Record

2013

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“…From the questionnaires we acquired information regarding previous tick-borne infections, general health status, and vaccination status for TBE as well as for yellow fever and Japanese encephalitis (Appendix S1). We included 8 health-related factors from the questionnaires in the analysis that we considered might influence the immune response; previous TBE disease [22], vaccination against other flaviviruses (yellow fever or Japanese encephalitis) [38], ≥2 tick-bites during the previous 3 months [39], pet-ownership (dog or cat) [40], asthma [41], smoking [42], allergy [43], and diabetes [44]. If a study participant visited health care for a suspected tick-borne disease during the 3-month study period we also investigated their medical records.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Determining Immunological Response to Vaccination against Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus in Older Individuals

et al. 2014

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We performed a cross-sectional study including 533 individuals (median age 61) from the highly TBE endemic Åland Islands in the archipelago between Sweden and Finland. Blood samples, questionnaires and vaccination records were obtained from all study participants. The aim was to investigate if there was any association between TBEV antibody titer and 12 health-related factors. Measurement of TBEV IgG antibodies was performed using two commercial ELISA assays (Enzygnost and Immunozym), and a third in-house rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test was used to measure TBEV neutralizing antibodies. The age of the individual and the number of vaccine doses were the two most important factors determining the immunological response to vaccination. The response to each vaccine dose declined linearly with increased age. A 35 year age difference corresponds to a vaccine dose increment from 3 to 4 to achieve the same immunological response. Participants previously vaccinated against other flaviviruses had lower odds of being seropositive for neutralizing TBEV antibodies on average, while participants with self-reported asthma had higher odds of being seropositive. By comparing the 3 serological assays we show that the Enzygnost and Immunozym assay differ due to choice of cutoffs, but not in overall accuracy.

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“…For instance, favorable positive associations between dog ownership and physical activity in older adults are reported for walking activity, walking frequency, total physical activity, and functional ability (Dembicki and Anderson, 1996; Feng et al, 2014; Gretebeck et al, 2013; Thorpe et al, 2006a; Thorpe et al, 2006b; Toohey et al, 2013). While relationships between dog ownership and physical activity has been previously studied in older women, the sample size and population diversity are limited (Enmarker et al, 2012; Harris et al, 2009; Hoerster et al, 2011; Shibata et al, 2012). The purpose of the present study was to expand upon previous research using findings from the well-characterized, diverse sample of over 160,000 postmenopausal women enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) observational study and clinical trials (Hays et al, 2003; The WHI Study Group, 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships between dog ownership and physical activity in postmenopausal women

Garcia

Wertheim

Manson

et al. 2015

Preventive Medicine

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Background Positive associations between dog ownership and physical activity in older adults have been previously reported. Purpose The objective of this study was to examine cross-sectional associations between dog ownership and physical activity measures in a well-characterized, diverse sample of postmenopausal women. Methods Analyses included 36,984 dog owners (mean age: 61.5 yrs), and 115,645 non-dog owners (mean age: 63.9 yrs) enrolled in a clinical trial or the observational study of the Women’s Health Initiative between 1993 and 1998. Logistic regression models were used to test for associations between dog ownership and physical activity, adjusted for potential confounders. Results Owning a dog was associated with a higher likelihood of walking ≥150 min/wk (OR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.10–1.17) and a lower likelihood of being sedentary ≥8 hr/day (OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.83–0.89) as compared to not owning a dog. However, dog owners were less likely to meet ≥7.5 MET-hr/wk of total physical activity as compared to non-dog owners (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.00–1.07). Conclusions Dog ownership is associated with increased physical activity in older women, particularly among women living alone. Health promotion efforts aimed at older adults should highlight the benefits of regular dog walking for both dog owners and non-dog owners.

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Health in older cat and dog owners: The Nord-Trondelag Health Study (HUNT)-3 study

Cited by 36 publications

References 24 publications

Describing the Relationship between Cat Bites and Human Depression Using Data from an Electronic Health Record

Describing the Relationship between Cat Bites and Human Depression Using Data from an Electronic Health Record

Factors Determining Immunological Response to Vaccination against Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus in Older Individuals

Relationships between dog ownership and physical activity in postmenopausal women

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