Pet ownership and survival of European older adults.

Christopoulos K, Benetou V, Riza E, Pantazis N

European journal of ageing · December 1, 2022

The aim of this research is to study the potential association of pet exposure (any pet, cat, dog, bird, fish) with all-cause, cardiovascular and cancer mortality of older (≥50 years) European residents. A total of 23,274 participants from the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) were employed (median follow-up 119 months). No significant association was observed for any of the pets with all-cause mortality on the whole sample. In stratified analyses, bird exposure significantly increased the risk of all-cause mortality in women (Hazard Ratio = 1.23; 95% CI 1.04-1.44) as well as women living alone (HR = 1.38; 95% CI 1.02-1.85). In conclusion, bird ownership may be negatively associated with survival of older women in Europe.

PMID: 36373031 · DOI: 10.1007/s10433-022-00739-6