Christopher Sharpley1, Nicola Veronese2, Lee Smith3, Guillermo F López-Sánchez4, Vicki Bitsika5, Jacopo Demurtas6, Stefano Celotto7, Vania Noventa8, Pinar Soysal9, Ahmet Turan Isik10, Igor Grabovac11, Sarah E Jackson12. 1. Brain-Behaviour Research Group, University New England, New South Wales Australia, Australia. 2. National Research Council, Neuroscience Institute, Aging Branch, Padua, Italy. 3. The Cambridge Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK. Electronic address: Lee.Smith@anglia.ac.uk. 4. Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Murcia, Spain. 5. Centre for Autism Spectrum Disorder, Bond University, Queensland, Australia. 6. Primary Care Department, Azienda USL Toscana Sud Est, Grosseto, Italy. 7. Primary Care Department, Aziendale AAS3 Alto Friuli - Collina - Medio Friuli, Udine, Italy. 8. Primary Care Department, Geriatric Unit, Azienda ULSS 3 "Serenissima" Dolo-Mirano District, Italy. 9. Department of Geriatric Medicine, Bezmialem Vakif University, Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey. 10. Unit for Aging Brain and Dementia, Department of Geriatric Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey. 11. Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Centre for Public Health, Medical University Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria. 12. Department of Behavioural Science and Health, UCL, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: This paper aims to examine associations between pet ownership and symptoms of depression in a large, population-based sample of older adults. Specifically, we tested whether: (i) people who report more depressive symptoms are more likely to own a pet; (ii) pet ownership protects against an increase in depressive symptoms over time; (iii) associations differ by symptom type. METHODS: Data were drawn from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, a longitudinal panel study of men and women aged 50 and older (n = 7,617, 52.5% female). Pet ownership (dog/cat/other/none) was self-reported in 2010/11. Depressive symptoms were assessed in 2010/11 and 2016/17 using the 8-item centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. We analysed total CES-D score and derived symptom subscales (depressed mood, anhedonia, somatic symptoms) in relation to pet ownership, adjusting for sociodemographic and health-related covariates. RESULTS: A one-symptom increase in total CES-D score was associated with 7% increased odds of dog ownership (OR=1.07, 95% CI 1.03-1.11). Significant associations were observed between each subset of depressive symptoms and dog ownership, with models run on z-scores showing a slightly stronger association for symptoms of depressed mood (OR=1.13, 95% CI 1.06-1.21) compared with anhedonia (OR=1.10, 95% CI 1.04-1.17) or somatic symptoms (OR=1.10, 95% CI 1.03-1.18). Prospectively, no significant associations were found. LIMITATIONS: Self-reported data; small sample size for some pet categories. CONCLUSION: Amongst older adults in England, those with more depressive symptoms are more likely to own a dog, but pet ownership is not significantly associated with change in depressive symptoms over time.
BACKGROUND: This paper aims to examine associations between pet ownership and symptoms of depression in a large, population-based sample of older adults. Specifically, we tested whether: (i) people who report more depressive symptoms are more likely to own a pet; (ii) pet ownership protects against an increase in depressive symptoms over time; (iii) associations differ by symptom type. METHODS: Data were drawn from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, a longitudinal panel study of men and women aged 50 and older (n = 7,617, 52.5% female). Pet ownership (dog/cat/other/none) was self-reported in 2010/11. Depressive symptoms were assessed in 2010/11 and 2016/17 using the 8-item centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. We analysed total CES-D score and derived symptom subscales (depressed mood, anhedonia, somatic symptoms) in relation to pet ownership, adjusting for sociodemographic and health-related covariates. RESULTS: A one-symptom increase in total CES-D score was associated with 7% increased odds of dog ownership (OR=1.07, 95% CI 1.03-1.11). Significant associations were observed between each subset of depressive symptoms and dog ownership, with models run on z-scores showing a slightly stronger association for symptoms of depressed mood (OR=1.13, 95% CI 1.06-1.21) compared with anhedonia (OR=1.10, 95% CI 1.04-1.17) or somatic symptoms (OR=1.10, 95% CI 1.03-1.18). Prospectively, no significant associations were found. LIMITATIONS: Self-reported data; small sample size for some pet categories. CONCLUSION: Amongst older adults in England, those with more depressive symptoms are more likely to own a dog, but pet ownership is not significantly associated with change in depressive symptoms over time.
Authors: Courtney J Bolstad; Ben Porter; Cynthia J Brown; Richard E Kennedy; Michael R Nadorff Journal: Anthrozoos Date: 2021-06-01 Impact factor: 2.723
Authors: Kristel J Scoresby; Elizabeth B Strand; Zenithson Ng; Kathleen C Brown; Charles Robert Stilz; Kristen Strobel; Cristina S Barroso; Marcy Souza Journal: Vet Sci Date: 2021-12-16