Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41440727›Full record

ArticleGeriatrics (Basel, Switzerland)2025

Pet Ownership, Pet Attachment, and Longitudinal Changes in Psychological Health-Evidence from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.

Erika Friedmann, Nancy R Gee, Eleanor M Simonsick, Barbara Resnick, Merve Gurlu, Ikmat Adesanya, Soyeon Shim

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Erika FriedmannDepartment of Organizational Systems and Adult Health, School of Nursing, University of Maryland, 655 W. Lombard St., Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2924-0449
Nancy R GeeCenter for Human-Animal Interaction, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298, USA.
Eleanor M SimonsickBaltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5460-3494
Barbara ResnickSchool of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
Merve GurluOffice of Research and Scholarship, School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
Ikmat AdesanyaOffice of Research and Scholarship, School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
Soyeon ShimOffice of Research and Scholarship, School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.ORCID 0009-0007-5817-0300

Funding

WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition 55091
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionWhile pet ownership (PO) is generally associated with better psychological health, research does not consistently demonstrate this relationship among community living older adults. Pet attachment has been suggested as a mechanism for the health benefits associated with pet ownership. We examine the contributions of PO and pet attachment to maintaining psychological health among generally healthy, cognitively intact, community-dwelling older adults as they age.

methodsOlder adults (N = 596; age: ≥50, M = 67.6, SD = 9.5 years, pet owners N = 178) completed PO history and assessments of anxiety, depression, happiness, and mental wellbeing every 1-4 years. Pet owners completed demographic and pet attachment assessments. Linear mixed models with random intercepts and covariates of initial age, sex, race, live alone, married, and comorbidities quantified longitudinal changes (M = 7.5, SD = 3.6 years) according to time-varying PO, pet attachment, and dog walking to these changes.

resultsPO moderated changes in anxiety (

conclusionsThis study provides important longitudinal evidence that PO may reduce age-related decline in owners' psychological health later in life. Pet attachment does not appear to be the mechanism for the advantages of PO. We suggest potential reasons. Additional research is needed to confirm mechanisms.

Indexed as

anxietyattachmentCES-Ddepressionhappinesshuman–animal interactionquality of lifeSF12wellbeing

Identifiers

PMID41440727
PMCPMC12733245

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.