Pet owners have better memories and are less likely to suffer cognitive decline than pet-less people, research finds

• Pet owners had a slower rate of cognitive decline compared to those who did not own pets in a recent study.
• Early findings show pet owners of five years or more saw the greatest benefit, as did Black adults and men.

Having a pet at home may provide a long-term health benefit beyond emotional support, according to a preliminary study released Wednesday.

Senior pet owners had a slower rate of cognitive decline compared to older adults who did not own pets, and those who had a furry (or feathery or scaly) friend for five years or more saw the most benefit for their brain health, the study found.

While dogs, followed by cats, were the most common pets in the sample, people in the study also reported caring for rabbits, hamsters, birds, fish, and reptiles.

Early findings of the study were announced via press release by the American Academy of Neurology, and the research will be presented in full at the Academy's 74th Annual Meeting in April.

Researchers used data from the University of Michigan's Health and Retirement Study, a large-scale survey of Medicare recipients, to compare the cognitive scores of pet owners and non-pet owners. The initial study involved multiple tests to evaluate memory and cognition over a six-year period.

Long-term pet owners saw a 1.2 point delay in cognitive decline, on average, compared to those who did not own pets. During the six-year study period, participants were scored on a 27 point scale based on their cognitive abilities.

Anyone who showed signs of cognitive decline at the onset of the study was not included in the final sample of 1,369 adults around age 65. Just over half reported owning pets at the time of the survey, and 32% owned pets for five years or more.

Pet owners may have better health overall, in part due to income

Past studies have illustrated a link between pet ownership and heart health benefits, such as a lower resting heart rate and baseline blood pressure. It's possible that having a pet could protect against stress, although research hasn't proven a direct cause and effect.

"As stress can negatively affect cognitive function, the potential stress-buffering effects of pet ownership could provide a plausible reason for our findings," study author Tiffany Braley, an associate professor of neurology at the University of Michigan, said in a press release.

"A companion animal can also increase physical activity, which could benefit cognitive health," she added.

Braley and colleagues found that the brain benefits of pet ownership were particularly strong for Black adults, college-educated adults, and men.

Pet owners tended to be of higher socioeconomic status, based on demographic data from the Health and Retirement Study. Several studies have established that Americans with lower incomes are especially likely to skip doctor visits due to cost barriers, according to a 2020 Health Affairs report, so there's likely more than pet ownership driving this gap in health outcomes.