Dog ownership and cardiovascular risk factors: a nationwide prospective register-based cohort study

Abstract

ObjectiveTo study the association between dog ownership and cardiovascular risk factors.DesignA nationwide register–based cohort study and a cross-sectional study in a subset.SettingA cohort of 2 026 865 participants was identified from the Register of the Total Population and linked to national registers for information on dog ownership, prescribed medication, hospital admissions, education level, income and country of birth. Participants were followed from 1 October, 2006, to the end of the study on 31 December, 2012, assessing medication for a cardiovascular risk factor, emigration and death. Cross-sectional associations were further assessed in 10 110 individuals from the TwinGene study with additional adjustment for professional level, employment status, Charlson comorbidity index, disability and tobacco use.ParticipantsAll Swedish residents aged 45–80 years on 1 October, 2006.Main outcome measuresInitiation of medication for hypertension, dyslipidaemia and diabetes mellitus.ResultsAfter adjustment for confounders, the results indicated slightly higher likelihood of initiating antihypertensive (HR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.03) and lipid-lowering treatment (HR, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.04) in dog owners than in non-owners, particularly among those aged 45–60 years and in those owning mixed breed or companion/toy breed dogs. No association of dog ownership with initiation of treatment for diabetes was found in the overall analysis (HR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.95 to 1.01). Sensitivity analyses in the TwinGene cohort indicated confounding of the association between dog ownership and prevalent treatment for hypertension, dyslipidaemia and diabetes mellitus, respectively, from factors not available in the national cohort, such as employment status and non cardiovascularchronic disease status.ConclusionsIn this large cohort study, dog ownership was associated with a minimally higher risk of initiation of treatment for hypertension and dyslipidaemia implying that the previously reported lower risk of cardiovascular mortality among dog owners in this cohort is not explained by reduced hypertension and dyslipidaemia. These observations may suffer from residual confounding despite access to multiple important covariates, and future studies may add valuable information.

195 Association between pet ownership and sleep in the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS)

“…We did not have information about the breed, age, and pedigree of dogs, which may moderate the association between dog ownership and health outcomes, including sleep. For instance, owning a dog of mixed pedigree or a dog belonging to the 'companion/toy' breed group was associated with hypertension and dyslipidemia in the dog owner 13 . Additionally, owning a dog from the 'Spitz/primitive' breed and the combined group of ' active dog breeds' was associated with a lower risk of diabetes mellitus 13 .…”

“…For instance, owning a dog of mixed pedigree or a dog belonging to the 'companion/toy' breed group was associated with hypertension and dyslipidemia in the dog owner 13 . Additionally, owning a dog from the 'Spitz/primitive' breed and the combined group of ' active dog breeds' was associated with a lower risk of diabetes mellitus 13 . Altogether, our study does not provide compelling evidence for the hypothesis that dog walking may result in overall better sleep.…”

Paws, Trends, and Family Bonds: The Dog Keeping Cultural Runaway Theory

“…Research on large datasets or with more objective measures than questionnaires repeatedly fails to confirm the supposed benefits (reviewed in (83,84). Dog owners do not live longer (85), do not recover better after a heart attack (86), their blood pressure is not lower, or it is even slightly higher than non-dog owners (87,88), they are not more healthy (89), not less obese, not more active (90), not happier (83), do not commit suicide less often (91)(92)(93), are not less lonely (81), or less depressed, but may be more depressed (94,95). They can face unique difficulties specifically related to caring for dogs.…”

Pet Ownership and the Risk of Arterial Hypertension and Cardiovascular Disease

“…However, a meta-analysis of 11 studies found that persons with a pet had a 1.7 mmHg (95% CI : − 3.062 to − 0.310 mmHg) lower systolic BP (SBP), a non-significant reduction in diastolic BP (DBP) [mean diastolic BP = − 0.23 (95% CI : − 1.05 to 0.60)], and a significant decrease in HR of 2.3 bpm (95% CI : − 3.074 to − 1.573 bpm) [ 5 ••]. The BP lowering effect was especially evident during direct contact with the pet [ 10 ], and influenced by the intesity of the owner-pet relationship [ 11 ], species of the pet [ 9 ••, 12 ] and breed of dog [ 13 ].…”