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Pets contribute to good health

February 17, 2000
Web posted at: 11:11 AM EST (1611 GMT)

(WebMD) -- Want to lower your blood pressure? Ward off depression? Cut down on the number of visits to your doctor? Improve your survival rate after suffering a heart attack?

Maybe you need a dog or cat in your life. Then again, maybe you don't.

In a recent study, Dr. Karen Allen, a research scientist in medicine at the State University of New York at Buffalo, found that stockbrokers with hypertension who adopted a cat or dog had lower blood pressure readings in stressful situations than did their pet-less counterparts.

Allen and her colleagues looked at 48 male and female stockbrokers who were using medication to control high blood pressure. All earned more than $200,000 a year, lived alone and had highly stressful jobs.

Half of the subjects were randomly selected to adopt a dog or cat at the beginning of the study. Later, in stress tests measuring changes in blood pressure, the stockbrokers without pets registered twice the stress response as those who had a pet in the room.

Allen, who presented her findings in November at a meeting of the American Heart Association, said the results were so striking that many of the study participants who did not have pets decided to acquire one after the study.

Allen says she is not certain just what happens physiologically. "There are lots of theories, but we honestly dont know why pets lower blood pressure. We suspect that having something on your side, something you can always count on that is nonjudgmental, psychologically creates a beneficial atmosphere."

For nearly 25 years, research has shown that living with pets appears to provide certain health benefits. Heart attack patients with pet companions survive longer than those without, according to several studies. Male pet owners have lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels than nonowners, according to Australian researchers.

Even more interesting are the psychosocial effects, according to Dr. Lynette Hart, associate professor at the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. "Studies have shown that Alzheimers patients have fewer anxious outbursts if there is an animal in the home," she says. "Their caregivers also feel less burdened when there is a pet, particularly if it is a cat, which generally requires less care than a dog."

Among the elderly, pets can be a great source of comfort and joy. Walking a dog or just caring for a pet, for those who are able, can provide exercise and companionship. In fact, one insurance company, Midland Life Insurance Company of Columbus, Ohio, asks clients over the age of 75 if they have a pet as part of their medical screening. Garth Garlock, spokesperson for the company, said pet ownership often helps tip the scales in favor of older clients looking for life or long-term care insurance.

In addition, many people who are vulnerable to depression or anxiety suffer less if they have a pet than do those living without pets. Judith Siegel, Ph.D., a UCLA professor of public health, published a study last May in the journal AIDS Care showing that pet owners with AIDS are far less likely to suffer from depression than those without pets. "The benefit is especially pronounced when people are strongly attached to their pets," she said.

Does this mean that everyone who suffers from heart disease or depression should run to the local shelter and adopt a pet?

No, say the researchers. The positive health aspects of living with a pet seem to work best in people who like animals. "You can't simply prescribe a dog to everybody," explains Hart. "People come along with a history of loving animals -- perhaps certain kinds of animals -- that brings with them those warm feelings. The benefits are there because you have the expectation of these warm, good feelings."

To prove her point she relates the story of the late Aline Kidd, a psychology professor at Mills College who was instrumental in introducing animals in nursing homes, a practice that is widespread today. In one particular facility, she brought in cats and dogs only to find the residents were not interested. They didn't really care if she brought the animals or not. "Then one day, she brought in a pig and they all loved it. It turned out they'd all grown up on farms with pigs."

Does that mean that if you have fond childhood memories of Snowball the cat, you'll improve your health by adopting a pet now?

Not necessarily. People with allergies to dogs or cats are not encouraged to keep them as house pets. And a committee of the Institute of Medicine in Washington, D.C., reported in January 2000 that cats and dogs, like dust mites, fungi, molds, and cold viruses, can aggravate asthma. The committee recommended the removal of pets from the homes of people with asthma.

Fleas and ticks carried by cats and dogs spread diseases ranging from the annoying itch of a flea bite to Lyme disease. A spokesman for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in San Francisco said his organization urges pregnant women to stay away from cat feces, a possible source of toxoplasmosis, which can cause miscarriage or stillbirth. Reptiles, such as turtles, snakes and lizards, can spread Salmonella, and families with young children are not encouraged to adopt these as pets. Birds, too, can transmit disease.

In most situations, however, normal precautions -- such as hand washing after playing with a pet and controlling fleas and ticks, both of which can spread disease -- ensure minimal health risks. Siegel says that even in immune-compromised AIDS patients the health benefits outweighed the risks if owners adopted safe pet-handling practices.

© 2000 Healtheon/WebMD. All rights reserved.

© 2000 Healtheon/WebMD. All rights reserved.



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