ReviewGeriatrics (Basel, Switzerland)2020
Associations between Pet Ownership and Frailty: A Systematic Review.
Review in Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the effects of human-animal interactions on health and well-being of older adults: an umbrella review.BMC geriatrics · 2026Pooled it
- Factors associated with frailty in older people: an umbrella review.BMC geriatrics · 2024Pooled it
- Association of new dog ownership with physical activity and social contact: the retrospective study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Investigation of dog ownership and physical activity on weekdays and weekends using longitudinal data from the SOEP Cohort.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Association of attachment with level of physical activity among dog owners: A cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2024Article
- Dog, cat, bird, fish, and other pet ownership and mortality: Evidence from the HILDA cohort.PloS one · 2024Article
- Protective effects of dog ownership against the onset of disabling dementia in older community-dwelling Japanese: A longitudinal study.Preventive medicine reports · 2023Article
- Examining human-animal interactions and their effect on multidimensional frailty in later life: a scoping review.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Leisure Activities, Genetic Risk, and Frailty: Evidence from the Chinese Adults Aged 80 Years or Older.Gerontology · 2023Article
- Pet ownership-related differences in medical and long-term care costs among community-dwelling older Japanese.PloS one · 2023Article
- Daily Mobility and Social Interactions Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults With Pet Dogs: A Scoping Review.Journal of applied gerontology : the official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society · 2022Article
- Evidence that dog ownership protects against the onset of disability in an older community-dwelling Japanese population.PloS one · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Frailty is defined as a state of increased vulnerability due to age-related decline in reserve and function across multiple physiological systems. Increasing physical activity level is considered to be a measure to counteract frailty. Some studies have indicated that pet owners are more engaged in physical activity than non-owners. We conducted a systematic review regarding associations between pet ownerships and frailty among community-dwelling older adults and critically assessed the findings. PubMed was searched in April 2020 according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines for cross-sectional or prospective studies examining associations between pet ownership and frailty in community-dwelling older adults with a mean age of 60 or above. A supplementary search was done using Google Scholar. Identified articles were reviewed by two investigators independently and assessed for methodological quality. The search identified 48 studies, among which three studies (two cross-sectional and one prospective) were included in this review. These studies suggested that pet ownership may be associated with a lower risk of frailty. This systematic review found only a limited amount of relevant research. More research is needed to establish the link between pet ownership and frailty as well as healthy aging and well-being.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.