A team at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, reports that owning a pet can slow cognitive decline in lonely older adults compared with people who don’t have pets.
What the Researchers Discovered
Living alone raises the risk of developing dementia. Declines in verbal memory and verbal fluency are common with age, but those declines appeared to progress more slowly in people who live alone who own pets.
Dr. Yanzhi Li, the study’s lead author, said pets reduce loneliness and improve overall well-being. Walking a dog also creates social opportunities and conversation starters.
The team analyzed data from about 8,000 British participants aged 50 and older who took part in an aging study from 2010 to 2019. Participants reported whether they owned pets and completed tests of word recall and verbal fluency.
More than a third of participants owned pets, and about 27 percent said they felt lonely, the Daily Mail reported.
The researchers tested verbal memory by asking people to remember lists of words. They measured verbal fluency by asking volunteers to name as many animals as possible in one minute.
Pet owners showed slower declines in language skills, even after adjusting for factors that affect brain health, such as age, chronic illnesses, and physical inactivity.
The rate of cognitive decline was roughly the same for pet owners who lived alone and for pet owners who lived with others.
That pattern suggests pets may offset declines in verbal memory and fluency often seen in people who live in isolation, where daily conversation and mental stimulation are limited.
The study found cat and dog owners were less socially isolated than people without pets. So having a pet at home can provide companionship and help lonely people socialize.
Dog owners who regularly walk their pets tend to sleep better after those outings, which can benefit cognitive function. The findings were published in JAMA Neurology.
What About Previous Studies?
The data align with previous research showing that pet ownership reduces feelings of isolation and that daily dog walks bring health benefits.
Recent studies also found that people with pets tend to do better at planning and problem-solving.
