Supervisors info:
Νικόλαος Πανταζής, Επίκουρος καθηγητής, Ιατρική σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Βασιλική Μπενέτου, Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Ελένη Ριζά, ΕΔΙΠ, Ιατρική σχολή Αθηνών, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
Background: With pet ownership on the rise, millions of individuals are exposed to this environmental factor. Nevertheless, more evidence is needed in order to clarify the potential association of pet ownership with human health.
Objective: To study the association of pet exposure (any pet, cat, dog, bird, fish) with all-cause mortality, cardiovascular and cancer-specific mortality in Europeans over the age of 50.
Methods: A total of 23,274 men and women, aged 64.2 years (SD: 9.8) from 15 European countries, volunteers in the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) participated in this study. All-cause mortality (5,163 deaths), cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality (1,832 deaths) and cancer-specific mortality (1,346 deaths) were examined, using Cox Proportional Hazards models, for their relation with pet exposure assessed at baseline. Stratified analyses were also performed by gender and for single or multi-person households. Results: No significant association was observed for any of the pets ownership with all-cause mortality. In stratified analyses, exposure to birds increased total mortality in females [Hazard Ratio (HR) = 1.23, 95%Confidence Intervals (CI) (1.04-1.44)] and in females living alone [HR = 1.38, 95% CI (1.02-1.85)]. Female bird owners had increased risk of death for causes other than cancer and CVD [HR = 1.40, 95%CI (1.05-1.99)].
Conclusions: Bird exposure may have a negative impact on the survival of older female population leaving in Europe.
