Categories: PETS

Having pets may help older adults living alone maintain healthy brains: Study


San Francisco, Dec 31 (IANS): For the growing number of older adults who live alone, having a pet such as a dog or cat by their side could help them maintain a healthy brain, a new study has said.

In the study published in the journal JAMA Network Open, the researchers mentioned that “pet ownership was associated with slower rates of decline in verbal memory and verbal fluency among individuals living alone, but not among those living with others”.

According to them, pet ownership offset the link between living alone and declining rates of verbal memory and verbal fluency.

The study included 7,945 participants 50 years and older. Researchers found that 28.5 per cent of all Americans lived in single-person households in 2021, indicating that more and more people are living alone as they age.

They also estimated that the number of people with dementia worldwide will increase from 57 million in 2019 to 153 million in 2050.

No effective therapy is currently available to successfully reverse cognitive decline or treat dementia, the researchers mentioned.

“Older adults living alone are at high risk for developing dementia, and living alone is a state that is not easily changed. It is worth noting that compared with pet owners living with others, pet owners living alone did not show faster rates of decline in verbal memory or verbal fluency,” the researchers said.

According to the researchers, loneliness is a potential mediator in the association of living alone with dementia among older adults.

Contrary to living alone, pet ownership (eg, raising dogs and cats) is related to reduced loneliness — an important risk factor for dementia and cognitive decline.

However, the association between pet ownership and the rate of cognitive decline has not been fully explored, and the existing findings remain controversial, the researchers noted.

 

  



Source link

Doggone Well Staff

Recent Posts

Senior ‘Soul Dog’ Finds Way To Be a Part of Owner’s Wedding

A TikTok video has captured the hearts of over one million people after revealing the…

45 minutes ago

Why Do People Use Outdated Dog Training Methods?

The importance of using reward-based methods to train dogs is widely known, yet some people…

1 hour ago

UPAWS seeks pet pictures for 2026 calendar contest

SANDS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WLUC) - Pet owners in the U.P. can now make their four-legged…

3 hours ago

Dog owners seek increased access to parks for furry family members

It was described by many dog owners as a happy place. Kawai Nui Neighborhood Park,…

5 hours ago

Home Bargains is selling 79p dog accessory that’s the ‘ultimate solution’ for keeping your pet cool in 30C heat

HOME Bargains has a cheap dog accessory for sale that is perfect for keeping your…

6 hours ago

Pensioner caught sexually abusing his pet dog after passer-by heard its ‘sickening’ cries of pain avoids prison

A pensioner who was caught sexually abusing his dog after a neighbour heard the animal's…

7 hours ago