Pets and cognitive decline

From Practice Update, by Doctor Jonathan Temte

I talk to our dog; I talk to our cats. Mind you that these are not deep conversations, such as the ones I have with my wife. It turns out, however, that the presence of pets in the house can have profound effects on slowing the verbal cognitive decline in older individuals. There is one catch: you have to be living alone.

Researchers used data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, which has surveyed and evaluated older adults (aged 50 years and older) since 2002. Pet ownership and living alone were used as variables in the assessments of verbal memory and verbal fluency, as well as a composite estimate of verbal cognition. All in all, nearly 8000 community-dwelling individuals were included in this study.

The participants had a mean age of 66 years and were predominantly White. About 27% lived alone and 35% had a household pet. It should be noted that there were many significant differences in the characteristics of pet owners compared with pet-deficient individuals, and statistical adjustment was necessary during analyses. Overall, pet owners had slower declines in composite verbal cognition, verbal memory, and verbal fluency. Most of this slowing was powered by the effect on individuals living alone. In other words, the benefit of a household pet occurred for individuals living alone; there were no significant effects realized by those living with others. Overall, pet ownership completely offsets the cognitive cost of living alone.

I believe this study underscores something that is all too real about disconnectedness in our modern culture. Loneliness and isolation are significant threats to physical and mental health. Recently, the US Surgeon General issued an advisory on the public health crisis of loneliness, isolation, and lack of connection in our country.1 Primary care clinicians need to be aware of this and ask patients specifically about their social networks and feelings of loneliness.

Reaching out to, and building connections with family, friends, and — importantly — others in our communities who are disconnected, is vitally important to health and well-being. And, in some cases, a household pet can be a big benefit. I tell this to my dog and cats all the time.

I read somewhere that loneliness has similar negative health effects to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.  

Our society values money more than friendship, and loneliness is rampant.  We need to change direction.