A modest protective association between pet ownership and cardiovascular diseases: A systematic review and meta-analysis

PURPOSE: Investigate the relationship between pet ownership and cardiovascular (CV) outcomes. METHODS: We searched the PubMed, Ovid EMBASE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases up to August 2018. Eligible publications examining the association between pet ownership and all-cause and CV mortality (primary outcomes) and risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD), myocardial infarction (MI), and stroke (secondary outcomes) were included. We used the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale to assess the quality of the articles. RESULTS: We included 12 studies, involving 488,986 participants (52.3% female, mean age 56.1 years), in our systematic review. The mean follow-up duration was 8.7 ± 6.3 years. Pet ownership had no association with adjusted all-cause mortality (odds ratio, OR = 1.01, 95% confidence interval, CI [0.94, 1.08], I(2) = 76%), adjusted CV mortality (OR = 0.87, 95% CI [0.75, 1.00], I(2) = 72%), or risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) (OR = 0.87, 95% CI [0.72, 1.05], I(2) = 73%), myocardial infarction (MI) (OR = 0.99, 95% CI [0.97, 1.01], I(2) = 0%), or stroke (OR = 0.99, 95% CI [0.98, 1.01], I(2) = 0%). However, subgroup analysis showed that pet ownership was associated with a lower adjusted CV mortality in the general population (OR = 0.93, 95% CI [0.86, 0.99], I(2) = 27%) than in CVD patients. In patients with established CVD, pet ownership was associated with a lower adjusted CVD risk (OR = 0.71, 95% CI [0.60, 0.84], I(2) = 0%). CONCLUSION: Pet ownership is not associated with adjusted all-cause or CV mortality, or risk of CVD, MI, or stroke, but it is associated with a lower adjusted CV mortality in the general population and a lower CVD risk in patients with established CVD.