Pet owners showed a slower decline in verbal memory and verbal fluency compared to people without pets. There was a steeper decline among older people living alone, excluding pet owners. Pet ownership has been found to potentially buffer the relationship between living alone and cognitive decline.
Future studies will need to examine all aspects of cognitive decline, not just memory and verbal fluency. This requires studies that include diverse ethnic and racial groups, and understanding the precise cause-and-effect relationship between pets and cognitive health is important.
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Source: Ferra
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