Sharpley, C;
Veronese, N;
Smith, L;
Bitsika, V;
Demurtas, J;
Celotto, S;
Noventa, V;
... Jackson, S; + view all
(2020)
Pet ownership and symptoms of depression: a prospective study of older adults.
Journal of Affective Disorders
, 264
(1)
pp. 35-39.
10.1016/j.jad.2019.11.134.
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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 Center 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 Among 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.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Pet ownership and symptoms of depression: a prospective study of older adults |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jad.2019.11.134 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.11.134 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Pet ownership, older adults, depression, depressive symptoms |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Behavioural Science and Health |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10086974 |
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