Posted by TENA/DIAMOND on 4/17/2009, 11:24 pm, in reply to "Pets for Depression and Health#1"
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Pets for Depression and Health#2
Can your depression problems improve when you interact with your pet?
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Pets and Depression: Veterinarians Weigh In
Pets often serve as confidantes, says Bonnie V. Beaver, DVM, a professor of veterinary medicine at Texas A&M University.
Pets also can increase social exposure for their owners -- another good way to boost mood, she says. Dogs need walks, and that gets their owners out with other people, inspiring social contacts.
"People talk to people with animals," she says, more so than people without pets.
Easing Stress With Your Pet
Pets help your mental health primarily by decreasing your stress, believes Richard Timmins, DVM, of Camano Island, Wash., and director of the Association for Veterinary Family Practice. Just petting your animals can be soothing, he and others say.
Having a pet in the house can change the entire ambience, as Timmins has discovered. His parents, when they were both 83, decided to adopt a "boutique mutt," a shih tzu-bichon mix. Timmins and his four siblings were concerned that the puppy would be too much work.
"My mother had difficulty with mobility and we worried the dog would trip her," he says. "My dad had had cardiac problems and a hip replaced."
Turns out, the dog was anything but a problem. While his parents weren't depressed, they had become less interested in activities, Timmins says. The dog changed all that. "Now they are outside walking the dog a couple times a day. It has given my mother and father topics to discuss with golf buddies."
Pets and Health: The Research
Studies about the mental health and physical health benefits of pets abound. Among the more recent findings:
The overall health of dog owners is better than those who don't have dogs, according to a study that evaluated women ages 25 to 40 in China. Half of the 3,031 women owned dogs and half did not. Those who had dogs exercised more often, slept better, reported better fitness levels and fewer sick days, and saw their doctors less often. The study is in Social Indicators Research.
Pets provide opportunities for social contact, according to a study in Social Science & Medicine, and that can be good for someone down in the dumps. Researchers asked 339 adults in Western Australia about their social contact and pet ownership. The pet owners interacted more with neighbors than non-owners.
Having a dog -- and petting it -- may be good for your cardiovascular system, although this research has yielded mixed results. In one study, however, pet owners had lower blood pressure and blood fat levels than non-owners, researchers report in the Medical Journal of Australia. Other research hasn't found a difference in blood pressure levels among pet owners and non-owners.
Pets and Depression: Caveats
Pets help most when symptoms of depression are mild or moderate, psychologists say.
"If you are already so depressed you can't take care of yourself, having an animal is going to make it worse," says Wright.
Another caveat: If someone is not a "pet person," getting one is not likely to help improve their life, says Timmins. "There are some people who have not had that pet experience growing up," he says. "They've never had a relationship with an animal. They would be less likely to benefit."
"But if the conditions are right, pets can help mental health," he says. "The benefits have been shown for all kinds of pets," he said, not just dogs and cats. Even watching fish in an aquarium has been shown to help reduce muscle tension and pulse rate, he says, citing research published nearly 20 years ago.
SOURCES:
Alan Entin, PhD, psychologist, Richmond, Va.
Teri Wright, PhD, psychologist, Santa Ana, Calif.
Richard Timmins, DVM, executive director, Association for Veterinary Family Practice, Camano Island, Wash.
Bonnie V. Beaver, DVM, professor of veterinary medicine, Texas A&M University.
DeSchriver, M. Anthrozoos, 1990; vol 4: pp 44-48.
Wright, J. Epidemiology, September 2007; vol 18: pp 613-618.
Wood, L. Social Science Medicine, September 2005; vol 61: pp 1159-1173.
Anderson, W. Medical Journal of Australia, Sept. 7, 1992; vol 157: pp 298-301.
Haw, C. Psychiatric Bulletin, April 2007; vol 31: pp 154-155.
Headey, B. Social Indicators Research, June 6, 2007; vol 87: pp 481-493.
Reviewed on December 12, 2008
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