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THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS OF ANIMALS
Meg Lukasa
Pets have long been
considered an important part of the family.
In fact, more than half of all
There have been
increasing claims concerning the health benefits pets can provide. The question is can we believe all the
hype?
What can your pet do for you?
The most common
claims include:
Decreased blood pressure
Decreased cholesterol levels
Decreased triglyceride levels
Decreased feelings of
loneliness
Decrease stress and anxiety
Increased psychological
wellbeing
Increased opportunities for
exercise
Increased survival after a
major illness
Increased opportunities for
social interaction
How?
Most websites do
not provide extensive explanations with the claims. It seems to be implied that pets provide
these benefits simply by being present in an owner’s life. The daily activities and interactions like
petting, playing, feeding, or walking all play a part.
What evidence is offered?
The Delta Society,
a self-described “leading resource for the human-animal bond,” provides a large number of abstracts
and articles, as well as an extensive bibliography as evidence to support their
claims (www.deltasociety.org/dsc000.htm). In The Delta Society’s Healthy Reasons to
Have a Pet, all of the most common claims can be found with a referenced
article.
What does the research say?
Do
pets decrease blood pressure, cholesterol levels, or triglyceride levels?
According to Animals
and Cardiovascular Health (
Pet owners had significantly
lower systolic blood pressure
Pet owners had significantly
lower plasma triglycerides
Male pet owners had
significantly lower cholesterol levels
HOWEVER
Differences in plasma
triglycerides and systolic blood pressure were “relatively modest,” averaging,
in men, 12% and 2% respectively
These findings “do not
prove that animal companionship per se lowers cardiovascular risk factors”
(
Do
pets decrease feelings of stress and anxiety?
According to Cardiovascular
Reactivity and the Presence of Pets, Friends, and Spouses: The Truth About Cats and Dogs (Allen 2002):
Pet owners and nonowners had the same physiological response to stress
when they were alone; this was the lowest physiological response to stress for
the nonowners
Pet owners had the lowest
physiological response to stress when their pets were present
Do
pets decrease feelings of loneliness?
According to Loneliness
and pet ownership among single women (Zasloff
& Kidd 1994):
Women living entirely alone were
more lonely than those living with either pets or other people
There were no significant
differences in loneliness between pet owners and nonowners
(In other words, there was not much difference between women living with just people
and women living with just pets)
This study suggested
that women living entirely alone could decrease loneliness by acquiring a pet,
which, by their findings, would be similar to getting a roommate. However, they also say that “no conclusions
can be drawn about whether a pet actually produces less loneliness in women who
live alone” (Zasloff & Kidd 1994, p.751).
Do
pets increase psychological wellbeing?
According to Evidence
for long term effects of pet ownership on human health (Serpell
1990):
Both dog and cat owners
demonstrated improvements in psychological wellbeing after the first six months
HOWEVER
Only dog owners experienced
these effects throughout the end of the ten month period
Do
pets increase opportunities for exercise?
According to Evidence
for long term effects of pet ownership on human health (Serpell
1990):
Dog owners experienced a “dramatic
and sustained” increase in physical exercise as a result of walking their dogs
Do
pets increase survival after a major illness?
According to Pet
ownership, social support and one year survival among post-myocardial
infarction patients in the cardiac arrhythmia suppression trial (Friedmann & Thomas 1995):
Dog owners are more likely to
be alive one year after acute myocardial infarction than people who did not own
dogs
HOWEVER
It could be possible that healthier
people choose to own pets, particularly dogs
Do
pets increase opportunities for social interaction?
According to Dogs
as catalysts for social interactions: robustness of effect (McNicholas 2000):
While walking a dog, people
experience a greater frequency of social interactions, especially interactions
with strangers, as compared to those walking alone
Conclusions
It appears that
while the research findings are encouraging, much research is needed before we
can draw any firm conclusions. It would
be quite beneficial for the studies to have much larger and more randomized
participant groups. It is also important
to discover how these effects are occurring, if in fact they are.
So, if you are
considering making a pet part of your family, or already have, it is possible
that your pet can bring about positive health benefits. However, think about it as an added perk… not
a replacement for a healthy lifestyle.
Sources
www.deltasociety.org/dsc000.htm
Allen,
K.M., Blascovich, J., Tomaka,
J. & Kelsey, R.M. (1991). Presence of human friends
and pet dogs as moderators of autonomic responses to stress in women. Journal
of Personality Psychology, 61, 582-589.
Friedmann,
McNicholas, J., Collis, G.M. (2000). Dogs as Catalysts for Social Interactions:
Robustness of the Effect. British Journal of Psychology
91 (pt.1), 61-71.
Serpel, J.A. (1990). Evidence
for long term effects of pet ownership on human health. In Pets, Benefits and
Practice.
Zasloff, R.L. & Kidd, A.H. (1994). Loneliness and pet ownership among single women. Psychological
Reports,
