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TUESDAY, Oct. 8, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Dog ownership is associated with better outcomes after a major cardiovascular event as well as a reduced risk for all-cause mortality, according to a cohort study and a meta-analysis published online Oct. 8 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Mwenya Mubanga, M.D., Ph.D., from Uppsala University in Sweden, and colleagues followed patients aged 40 to 85 years presenting with an acute myocardial infarction (181,696 patients; 5.7 percent dog owners) or ischemic stroke (154,617 patients; 4.8 percent dog owners). The researchers found that during the 804,137 person-year follow-up period, dog owners had a lower risk for death after hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction, with adjusted hazard ratios of 0.67 and 0.85 for those who lived alone and for those living with a partner or child, respectively. Dog owners also had a lower risk for death during 638,219 person-years of follow-up after ischemic stroke (corresponding adjusted hazard ratios, 0.73 and 0.88, respectively).<\/p>\n
Caroline K. Kramer, M.D., Ph.D., from Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, and colleagues performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the correlation of dog ownership with all-cause mortality using data from 10 studies with 3,837,005 participants. The researchers found that compared with nonownership, dog ownership correlated with a significantly reduced risk for all-cause mortality (relative risk, 0.76); the risk reduction was greater in individuals with prior coronary events (relative risk, 0.35). Dog ownership conferred a significant risk reduction for cardiovascular death when restricting analyses to studies assessing cardiovascular mortality (relative risk, 0.69).<\/p>\n
“These findings should encourage clinicians to discuss pet adoption with their patients, particularly those with preexisting cardiovascular disease and those living by themselves,” writes the author of an accompanying editorial.<\/p>\n
One author from the Mubanga study disclosed financial ties to the biotechnology industry; one author from the Kramer study disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.<\/p>\n
Abstract\/Full Text – Mubanga (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text – Kramer (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n Editorial (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n