ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences2025
The Association of Regular Dog Walking With Mobility, Falls, and Fear of Falling in Later Life.
Article in The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Dog Companionship and Loneliness in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Multicentre, Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of geriatric psychiatry · 2026Article
- The protective role of companion animal ownership in cognitive aging: current status of the literature.GeroScience · 2026Review
- Protective Factors for Falls Among Independent Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIt has been suggested that dog walking may protect against falls and mobility problems in later life, but little work to date has examined this. The aim of this study was to assess if regular dog walking was associated with reduced likelihood of falls, fear of falling, and mobility problems in a large cohort of community-dwelling older people.
methodsParticipants ≥60 years at Wave 5 of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing were included. Regular dog walking was ≥4 days/week by self-report. The control group consisted of participants who did not own a dog or who did not regularly walk their dog. Falls and fear of falling were self-reported. Mobility was measured with Timed-Up-and-Go (TUG). Logistic regression models assessed associations between regular dog walking and outcomes of interest.
resultsRegular dog walkers (629/4 161, 15%) had a significantly faster TUG (10.3 (10.1-10.5) versus 11.7 (11.1-12.2) seconds, t = 2.11, p = .0343) and a lower likelihood of unexplained falls (OR 0.60 (0.38-0.96; p = .034), fear of falling (OR 0.79 (95% CI 0.64-.98); p = .032), and mobility problems (0.64 (0.45-0.91); p = .015) in fully adjusted models. Regular dog walking was also associated with a significantly lower likelihood of fear of falling (OR 0.79 (95% CI 0.64-0.98); p = .032). DISCUSSION: This study demonstrates a significantly lower prevalence of mobility impairment, falls, and fear of falling among community-dwelling older people who regularly walk their dogs. Although longitudinal and dedicated studies are required, older people should be encouraged to continue regular dog walking where feasible, as it may help in maintaining mobility and reducing falls.
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Registered trials
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