Pets May Help Prevent Cognitive Decline in Elderly People
I love to write about the health benefits that people derive from their pets. Therefore, even though this topic may be a bit of a stretch, I’m making a prediction. Here it is: future studies will show that pets help to prevent memory loss and dementia in elderly people.
This prediction is based on two papers that appear in the July, 2008 American Journal of Public Health. The papers assess the effects of social integration and social networks on memory function, cognitive function, and dementia in humans.
Here is a quote from the first article.
Conclusions. Our study provides evidence that social integration delays memory loss among elderly Americans. (Am J Public Health. 2008;98: 1215-1220)
And here are the conclusions of the second article.
Our findings suggest that larger social networks have a protective influence on cognitive function among elderly women. (Am J Public Health. 2008;98: 1221-1227.)
These studies show that an active social life and a robust social network help to prevent mental confusion and memory loss.
I confess that pets are not mentioned in the studies. But I doubt that anyone on Dogster or Catster would deny that pets are part of their social network. After all, Dogster and Catster are social networking sites based on pets.
So, I have made my prediction. I will be keeping an eye on the scientific journals to see if I am proven right.
You have questions. 
Does Catster/Dogster qualify as social integration?
My dog Abby and I are a Therapy Dog team. When we lived in northern Virginia prior to moving south, we worked at an assisted living facility that had a special program for the memory impaired. We visited with people who had Altzheimer’s and similar conditions.
Alzheimer’s affects the more recent memories first and then the older memories. So many patients with Alzheimer’s do not remember recent events such as the birth of a grandchild, but they will remember things from their youth if their memory is “jogged”. Visiting with a therapy dog helps people bring back memories - one lady remembered her dog, Rusty. Another told me about the German Shepherd she had as a child living in Austria.
Dog owners can revel in the fact that research studies report a link between dog ownership and reduced stress and improved health for their human companions. There’s nothing like the loyalty and unconditional love of a dog to balance the fast-paced, high tech nature of life today. Whatever you have to deal with, when you come home and your dog rushes to greet you with his tail wagging, the troubles of the day melt away.
Whoever said you can’t buy happiness forgot about puppies.”
[…] is my ongoing passion to document the health benefits that people derive from their pets. In a recent post, I surmised that in the future it will be shown that pets help to prevent cognitive decline (memory […]