Do you want to live longer? Get a dog!
The life of dog owners, as a rule, is a little longer than that of people with or without other pets, while an exact explanation for this phenomenon has not yet been found. The sensational discovery belongs to Swedish scientists who published an article in the journal Scientific Reports.
If you interview dog owners, many people will say that their pets affect life and mood exceptionally positively. Four-legged companions are often started by lonely people and pensioners to cope with longing. Families with children also feel happier in the company of a faithful dog, and kids learn to be caring and responsible. But are dogs able to cope with such a serious task as prolonging life? Scientists from Uppsala University – the oldest in Scandinavia – have checked whether this is really the case.
Experts gathered a control group of 3.4 million Swedes aged 40-85 years who had heart attacks or strokes in 2001 and later. Among the study participants were both dog owners and those who did not keep these animals. As it turned out, the first group had the best health indicators.
The presence of a dog in the house reduced the likelihood of premature death by 33% and reduced the likelihood of developing heart and vascular diseases by 11%. "It is interesting that dogs had a particularly beneficial effect on the lives of single people, who, as we have long known, die more often than family people," said Mvenya Mubanga from Uppsala University. For Swedes who lived with spouses or children, the correlation was less pronounced, but still noticeable: 15% and 12% respectively.
The positive influence of four-legged friends is not least due to the fact that people have to walk pets, so that their lifestyle becomes more active. The strength of the "life extension" effect depended on the breed of the dog. So, the owners hunting breeds on average lived longer than the owners decorative dogs .
In addition to the physical component, the emotions experienced by people are important. Dogs are able to reduce the feeling of anxiety, help to cope with loneliness, have empathy. "We were able to prove that dog owners experience less depressive feelings and interact more with other people," said Tove Fall, one of the authors of the study. Scientists also do not rule out that people live longer due to interaction with animals at the microflora level - this remains to be seen.