It’s a RW-Dogs’ life: retrospective study on the benefits of dog ownership

The National Institute for Environmental Studies (Tsukuba, Japan) have highlighted the benefits of dog ownership in the Japanese population. The study, published in the journal PLOS One, analyzed real-world data (RWD) from over 11,000 older Japanese adults. Results revealed that dog ownership may reduce the likelihood of disability onset in later life. Alongside present-day collection of dog or cat ownership information, the team utilized retrospective RWD collected between 2016–2020. This data contained information about individual's demographics, disability status and additional health data. Statistical analyses of the data were performed to link the pet ownership information collected during the study period...