A link has been identified between having a dog and the development of senile dementia.

Barking pets are good for the brain

People over 65 who own a dog are 40% less likely to develop dementia, a new study has found. Experts say caring for your dog can help keep you physically and mentally active.

Photo: pixabay.com

We all know that dogs are man's best friend, and now research shows that this may be related with the benefits that dogs bring to our brain health, writes the Daily Mail.

Scientists from Japan have found that owning a dog of any breed (but, alas, not a cat!) reduces the risk of developing dementia in older people by 40 percent compared to people who do not have barking pets.

Having a dog makes a person more likely to get out of the house, which leads to more interaction with other people and in turn exercises the brain, Japanese researchers say.

This has a «suppressing effect» on the development of the debilitating condition that causes more than 55 million people worldwide suffer, notes the Daily Mail.

Previous studies have also shown that dog ownership in older adults has a protective effect against frailty, disability and death from any cause.

The new study was conducted by researchers at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology in Japan, who say it is the first work that showed that dog ownership protects against dementia.

“Dog owners with an exercise habit and not socially isolated had a significantly lower risk of debilitating dementia,” the study article states. “Dog care can promote physical activity, including exercise habits, and social participation.” life even under conditions of restrictions on interaction, such as those that arose during the Covid-19 pandemic.»

Dementia is an umbrella term for symptoms that occur when brain function declines, but Alzheimer's disease is the most common dementia condition, explains the Daily Mail, adding that many dementia conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, are associated with an abnormal buildup of proteins in the brain.< /p>

But exercise, the publication continues, reduces this buildup while simultaneously maintaining adequate blood flow to the brain and stimulating the growth and survival of brain cells.

In addition to getting enough physical activity, staying mentally and socially active is important. Another common medical tip for preventing dementia.

For the study, the researchers recruited 11,194 older adults in Japan between the ages of 65 and 84. Participants who were physically and cognitively independent at the start of the study were sent questionnaires to complete about whether they owned a cat or a dog.

Participants were also asked about any types of exercise they did more than once. times a week, ranging from walking and running to yoga, swimming, cycling and stretching.

About four years later, their health was assessed, including the development of any dementia conditions.

For the entire sample, the researchers calculated an «odds ratio,» which indicates the risk of developing dementia for both dog and cat owners.

After adjusting for background factors, the odds ratio was 0.6 for dog owners, but much higher — 0.98 — for cat owners and 1 for those who did not own dogs or cats.

As expected, how much exercise participants did also affected the risk of developing dementia, but this was of utmost importance to dog owners.

Dog owners who exercised regularly had a low odds ratio of developing dementia at 0.37 compared with dog owners who didn't exercise.

But dog owners who don't exercise had a lower odds ratio of developing dementia — 0.37. the odds ratio was much higher at 0.89 compared to people without dogs who did not exercise.

And current dog owners who were not socially isolated had an odds ratio of 0.41 compared to people without dogs who were socially isolated.

In other words, dog owners who were used to exercise and were not isolated from society have the lowest risk of debilitating dementia.

However, the findings suggest that owning a dog does not protect against the disease if you get little exercise and are socially isolated, the team warns.

«Dog owners without daily lifestyle habits associated with dog care, such as lack of exercise and social isolation, did not experience benefits associated with dementia prevention,» the scientists wrote.

The researchers note that The proportion of dog and cat owners in Japan is lower than in Western countries such as the United States. «It will therefore be important to assess whether the relationships found in Japan are also present in Western and other countries,» they say.

There are about 50 worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). million people with dementia, with nearly 10 million new cases reported each year.

A 2021 study found that the number of global dementia cases will nearly triple to more than 152 million by 2050, driven by aging population.

According to experts at the University of Washington, the greatest increase in the prevalence of dementia is expected in eastern sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East.