The Effects of Pets on People's Health

Individuals who are debating whether or not to bring a pet into the home might be undecided because of health concerns. However, pets can actually have positive effects on peoples' health. They can benefit human health in surprising areas such as allergies, depression, symptoms of AIDs, heart disease, or high blood pressure.

  1. Allergies

    • While people commonly see pets as a negative source of allergens, quite the opposite can also be true. Exposure to pets at a young age actually helps to build a child's immune system. In a study conducted by James E. Gern, a pediatrician at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he found that 19 percent of infants in a home with a dog had evidence of pet allergies compared with 33 percent of infants in a home without a dog. The infants with a dog in the home also had lower levels of eczema and stronger immune systems.

    Disease

    • Lynette Hart, associate professor at the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, found that Alzheimer sufferers have less anxious outbursts if they have a pet in their homes. People who have pets often have lower blood pressure readings than those individuals who do not, particularly if they are under a great deal of stress. Furthermore, heart attack victims tend to survive longer if they have a pet than if they do not. Men who own pets also have fewer symptoms of heart disease than those who do not have pets.

    Stress

    • Relaxing or playing with a pet helps to relieve stress because such activities release serotonin and dopamine, chemicals that enhance feelings of calmness and pleasure. Eliminating stress is crucial to good health because it can significantly weaken the immune system. Eliminating stress is important to mental health as well. Furthermore, individuals who suffer from AIDs can often fall into states of depression. However, those people who have pets are less likely to become depressed than those who do not.

    General Health

    • Cambridge University in England and the University of California at Los Angeles found that owning a pet results in better overall health and even fewer visits to the doctor. A Medicare study discovered that seniors who own dogs go to the doctor less frequently than those seniors who do not. Additionally, a study conducted in Australia of 6,000 individuals showed that people who owned dogs and/or cats did not need to take as much medication for conditions such as heart problems, blood pressure, cholesterol, or sleeping issues.