ArticlePeerJ2026
Dog ownership and healthy brain aging: a pilot study.
Article in PeerJ, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Dog ownership may benefit brain and cognitive health by supporting physical activity and social connectedness, among other mechanisms. Studies that include brain health outcomes ( Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Participants ( Results: Participants were 74.8 ± 3.9 years old, 60% were female, 100% were non-Hispanic White, 84% had at least a 4-year college degree, and 76% reported very good or excellent health. Most (84%) provided complete survey, physical activity, cognition, and brain MRI data. Dog owners took 8,972 ± 5,650 mean steps per day, while non-dog owners took 7,107 ± 2,989 mean steps per day. Most dog owners (11/13; 85%) reported dog walking, and most (11/13; 85%) reported meeting people in their neighborhood through their dog. Dog owners scored 6.8 ± 2.9 on the PROMIS Social Isolation v2.0-Short Form 4a (scale 4-20, higher scores = more isolation), while non-dog owners scored 6.7 ± 2.7. Dog owners scored 112.2 ± 12.8 on the NIH Fluid Cognition Composite Score (100 indicates average function), while non-dog owners scored 116.3 ± 10.3. Total gray matter volume was 599,156 ± 10,035 mm Conclusions: This pilot research was performed to inform a larger study on the brain and cognitive health impact of dog ownership in older adulthood. This study confirmed feasibility of data collection procedures while identifying important modifications needed for the success and rigor of the hypothesis-testing study, namely that recruitment strategies must be modified in the larger study to ensure a more representative study sample with greater variability in mechanisms of interest (
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