Thread: Getting a Dog May Save Your Life, Especially If You’re Single

Having a dog can bring a lot of love into your life. It could also make it last a little longer.



A group of academics from Uppsala University in Sweden analyzed the health records of 3.4 million people in that northern European country, where databases contain detailed information on everyone’s hospitalizations, medical history and even whether they own a dog. Such detailed records made it relatively easy to suss out the impact of having a canine companion.



The results were heartwarming.


People in possession of a pooch were less likely to have cardiovascular disease or die from any cause during the 12 years covered by the research, according to the study published in Scientific Reports. The impact was greatest for single people, said Mwenya Mubanga, an author of the paper from the university’s Department of Medical Sciences and the Science for Life Laboratory.



“Dog ownership was especially prominent as a protective factor in persons living alone, which is a group reported previously to be at higher risk of cardiovascular disease and death,” Mubanga said. “Perhaps a dog may stand in as an important family member in the single households.”


The researchers examined seven national databases in Sweden, including two that track dog ownership, focusing on people aged 40 to 80. Single dog-owning adults who lived alone were 11 percent less likely to subsequently develop heart disease and 33 percent less likely to die than non-dog owners, the analysis found. Hunting dogs seemed to offer the most protection when it came to staying alive.


It’s not clear exactly how the dogs helped avert heart disease, or whether getting one directly led to better health, cautioned Tove Fall, the senior author of the paper and associate professor in epidemiology at Uppsala University. It’s possible that dog owners are healthier and more active before they get a canine companion, she said.


“We know that dog owners in general have a higher level of physical activity, which could be one explanation to the observed results,” Fall said. “Other explanations include an increased well-being and social contacts or effects of the dog on the bacterial microbiome in the owner.”


Either way, maybe an extra treat for that doting Lab waiting for you at home is in order.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...-you-re-single

What if your wife keeps you on the leash?

Originally Posted by misskit

Single dog-owning adults who lived alone were 11 percent less likely to subsequently develop heart disease

Is it because they go for walks every day?

But if you do die, it will eat you.

Originally Posted by Maanaam

Is it because they go for walks every day?

Of course it is. Look at the bit about hunting dogs being the best..Those fucking things want walking again as soon as youve walked them.
And the funny thing is those types of dogs ie.. springer spaniels have a shorter lifespan than normal dogs.

You wont live longer having a dog in Thailand, youll just increase your odds of some idiot mowing you and your hound down

Any stats on intimate relationships with their hounds?...Verboten info, maybe...

Originally Posted by misskit

Either way, maybe an extra treat for that doting Lab waiting for you at home is in order.

Originally Posted by Dillinger

Of course it is. Look at the bit about hunting dogs being the best..Those fucking things want walking again as soon as youve walked them.
And the funny thing is those types of dogs ie.. springer spaniels have a shorter lifespan than normal dogs.

Skipped over that bit.
Yeah, definitely it's the walking. Wonder why it's not been hypothesised by the scientists and why all pondering the mystery.

my take on the theory is that the type of person owning a well loved dog is the type of person to have a healthy heart and disposition anyway.

ref the springer, i stayed with my nephew last time in uk took his gun dog for a walk across the fields , when we got back he nearly died of exhuastion.poor bastard hadnt walked that far in years. great dog, great day out.

Originally Posted by BaitongBoy

Any stats on intimate relationships with their hounds?...Verboten info, maybe...

What an extremely strange thing to wonder about.....

Originally Posted by nidhogg

What an extremely strange thing to wonder about.....

only if u take it literally.

Originally Posted by Maanaam

Skipped over that bit.
Yeah, definitely it's the walking. Wonder why it's not been hypothesised by the scientists and why all pondering the mystery.

Plus greater affluence and a better general lifestyle (especially living in pleasant surroundings) is needed to decide to get a dog in Sweden in the first place. OK so that may not always apply in, say, Liverpool.

All rather obvious really.

Heh...Extremely strange...


Says the cat in the yap on the Buffalo Board...


Jaysus...