The Impact of a Pet, in This Case a Dog, on Physical Activity, Independence, Social Contacts, Health and Quality of Life of Elderly People

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DOI: 10.4236/aar.2016.54009    2,445 Downloads   5,546 Views  Citations

ABSTRACT

In a rural area near Munich, 52 persons aged 65 years and older were interviewed in person about health and social life circumstances. Findings: Dog owners take significantly longer walks than people who do not own dogs, averaging more than 120 minutes daily (p < 0.0001). On average, people who do not own a dog walked 38 minutes, cat owners 17 minutes. 94% of the dog owners were active daily compared to 14% of those who do not own a dog. Dog owners go to the doctor on average 5.3 times per year, people who do not own a dog 7.8 times. There was no difference between the two groups in regard to the use of medication. 80% would not move to a residential home for the elderly because of the dog, and 87% would want to take the dog along. 50% of the dog owners and 41% of those who do not own a dog had on average more than 3 contacts with other people, 6% of the dog owners and 23% of those who do not own a dog had less than one contact per day. 19% of the dog owners and 36% of those who do not own a dog would describe themselves as reserved in dealings with people. 71% stated that the dog had been very useful to help them overcome the loss of a person close to them. The W-5 [Wellbeing Five score] for dog owners was an average value of 75%, for those who did not own a dog 71%. Depression was uniformly distributed in both groups. The BMIs in both groups were similar. There was no correlation to the length of the daily walk.

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Poestges, A. , Gresser, U. and Maria Richartz, B. (2016) The Impact of a Pet, in This Case a Dog, on Physical Activity, Independence, Social Contacts, Health and Quality of Life of Elderly People. Advances in Aging Research, 5, 83-95. doi: 10.4236/aar.2016.54009.

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