Dog owners have lower mortality, study finds.

[Cattledog]

Dog owners have a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease or other causes, a study of 3.4 million Swedes has found.
The team analysed national registries for people aged 40 to 80, and compared them to dog ownership registers.

They found there was a lower risk of cardiovascular disease in owners of dogs, particularly of hunting breeds.
While owning a dog may help physical activity, researchers said it may be active people who choose to own dogs.

They also said owning a dog may protect people from cardiovascular disease by increasing their social contact or wellbeing, or by changing the owner's bacterial microbiome.

The microbiome is the collection of microscopic species that live in the gut. It's thought a dog may influence its owner's microbiomes as dogs change the dirt in home environments, exposing people to bacteria they may not have encountered otherwise.

Read the entire article at:

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-42009932?ocid=socialflow_twitter&ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_source=twitter

[hlthe2b]

1. I am not surprised... My BP is currenty consisently optimal for someone decades younger--

not just "normal" but OPTIMAL.

I credit my loving furry girl and the stress relief she delivers, along with all the walking we do together.

I highly recommend that those who can not have a pet think about volunteering at a local shelter to walk the dogs, feed and caress the cats. What you give will be returned 1000 fold.

[lastlib]

2. Still averages out to one per person, doesn't it??

.

[Blues Heron]

3. that's great, however

my neighbors dog gives me high blood pressure what with the constant barking. So yeah, study that.

[Vinca]

4. I hate to break it to the Swedes, but our risk of mortality is 100% - dog or not dog.

[mnhtnbb]

5. Well, yeah, but that's not the point of the study.

If you have cardiovascular disease, you are at risk of dying younger. The study found a lower risk of
cardiovascular disease associated with dog ownership.

So, yeah. We all die sooner or later but there are things we can do that studies show reduce the risk of dying
from certain causes, which can have a positive effect on prolonging life.

[ColoradoBlue]

6. Pets

I work in the pet industry and I read one fascinating study that found that just being in the same ROOM as a pet - without even touching them - lowers one's blood pressure. Our relationship with animals is amazing.

[Kirk Lover]

8. Unless you're a factory 'farm' animal...then it ain't so great.

[Rainbow Droid]

7. The morality of cat owners is higher but we lose a bit of our reading comprehension in the process.

NT