People who own dogs have lower risks of dying from cardiovascular diseases and other health causes, according to a study of 3.4 million Swedes.
Researchers examined data from national registries for people between the ages of 40 to 80 and compared it with dog ownership registers, the BBC reports. They discovered a lower risk of cardiovascular disease among dog owners, specifically for hunting breeds.
Owning a dog may be helpful for physical activity, but researchers point out that it may be active people who pick dogs as pets. Having a dog may protect from cardiovascular disease by increasing owners’ wellbeing or social circle, or by changing the person’s bacterial microbiome.
The microbiome is the bacteria in the human gut. Scientists believe that a dog may have an effect on its owners’ microbiomes because dogs change the composition of dirt in homes, exposing people to other kinds of bacteria.
Dogs are particularly helpful for people who live alone, the researchers say.
Mwenya Mubanga of Uppsala University said,
The results showed that single dog owners had a 33% reduction in risk of death and 11% reduction in risk of heart attack.
People who live alone have been known to have a higher risk of cardiovascular death. Mubanga said, “Perhaps a dog may stand in as an important family member in the single households.”
The team looked at information from national databases from 2001 to 2012. Owning hunting breeds such as terriers, scent hounds and retrievers was linked to the lowest risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Tove Fall, senior author of the study, said that there were limitations to the study’s findings. “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. 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.”
The study was published in Scientific Reports.
