Accumulating evidence from studies of human-animal interaction highlights the physiological, psychological, and social benefits for older owners of dogs and cats. This longitudinal study examined whether experience of dog/cat ownership protects against incident frailty in a population of community-dwelling older Japanese. Among 7881 non-frail community-dwelling adults aged 65 years or older who completed a mail survey in 2016, 6,197 (mean [SD] age, 73.6 [5.3] years; 53.6% women) were reevaluated in a 2018 follow-up survey. Frailty was assessed with the Kaigo-Yobo Checklist. Incident frailty was defined as a score of four or higher in the follow-up survey. Overall, 870 (14.0%) were current dog/cat owners, 1878 (30.3%) were past owners and 3449 (55.7%) were never owners. During the 2-year follow-up period, 918 (14.8%) developed incident frailty. Mixed-effects logistic regression models showed that the odds ratio for incident frailty among dog/cat owners, as compared with never owners, current owners were 0.87 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.69-1.09) and past owner were 0.84 (0.71-0.98), after controlling for important confounders at baseline. In stratified analysis, the risk of incident frailty was lower for past dog owners than for cat owners. Longer experience of caring for a dog requires physical activity and increases time outdoors spent dog walking and thus may have an important role in maintaining physical and social function and reducing frailty risk among older adults.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6901519PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-54955-9DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

incident frailty
24
owners
9
frailty
8
follow-up survey
8
dog/cat owners
8
incident
6
association dog
4
dog cat
4
cat ownership
4
ownership incident
4

Similar Publications

Joint association of objective and subjective aging with premature mortality.

NPJ Aging

January 2025

Department of Epidemiology, Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA.

Objective and subjective aging indicators reflect diverse biological and psychosocial processes, yet their combined association with premature mortality remains underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the association between a multidomain framework of aging indicators and premature mortality, addressing gaps in understanding cumulative effects. We included 369,741 UK Biobank participants initially free of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer, followed until December 31, 2022.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Influence of frailty status on the incidence of intraoperative hypotensive events in elective surgery: Hypo-Frail, a single-centre retrospective cohort study.

Br J Anaesth

January 2025

Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine (CCM/CVK), Berlin, Germany; Medical University of Vienna, Department of Anaesthesia, Intensive Care Medicine and Pain Medicine, Clinical Division of General Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Vienna, Austria. Electronic address:

Background: Frailty is a predictor of morbidity and mortality in older patients. This study aimed to investigate the influence of frailty status on likelihood, rate, duration, and severity of intraoperative hypotension (IOH), which can lead to severe organ dysfunction.

Methods: Surgical patients (≥70 yr old) with preoperative frailty assessment were analysed retrospectively.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The age-specific incidence of traumatic brain injury in older adults is rising in high-income countries, mainly due to an increase in the incidence of falls. The severity of traumatic brain injury in older adults can be underestimated because of a delay in the development of mass effect and symptoms of intracranial haemorrhage. Management and rehabilitation in older adults must consider comorbidities and frailty, the treatment of pre-existing disorders, the reduced potential for recovery, the likelihood of cognitive decline, and the avoidance of future falls.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

As a widely consumed, nutritious, and affordable food, eggs and their derivatives' impacts on obesity remain inconclusive. In this study, we aimed to determine the association between egg and egg-derived cholesterol consumption, and their change trajectories, with obesity among Chinese adults. : Longitudinal data collected by the China Health and Nutrition Survey from 1997 to 2015 were analyzed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Frailty is a geriatric syndrome of significant public health concern that causes vulnerability to physiologic stressors and an increased risk of mortality and hospitalizations. Dietary intake and quality are contributing factors to the development of frailty. The Mediterranean diet is known to be one of the healthiest eating patterns with promising health impacts for prevention.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!