Pet ownership and risk factors for cardiovascular disease: Another look

Abstract

Objective: To test the claim that pet ownership reduces cardiovascular risk. Design: Community survey. Participants: 2528 adults aged 40-44 years and 2551 aged 60-64 years who lived in the Australian Capital Territory and Queanbeyan, New South Wales, and were drawn randomly from the Australian electoral roll in 2000 and 2001. Main outcome measures: Sociodemographic measures, including pet ownership, and measures of physical health (including body mass index [BMI], alcohol and cigarette consumption, and levels of physical activity). Two readings of diastolic and systolic blood pressure were also taken. Results: While pet owners and non-pet owners had similar levels of systolic blood pressure,..