According to a new study carried out on more than 3.4 million people, owning a dog is linked to a longer life.
The latest research, published in Scientific Reports, suggests that canine companions may be good for human health, especially for people who living alone.
To study the link between owning a pet dog and longevity, researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden reviewed national registry records of Swedish men and women, ages 40 to 80.
They focused on 3.4 million people who had no history of cardiovascular disease in 2001, and followed their health records—as well as whether they registered as a dog owner—for about 12 years.
Dog ownership registries are mandatory in Sweden, and every visit to a hospital is recorded in a national database.
They discovered that dog owners had a lower risk of death due to cardiovascular disease than people who did not report owning a dog, as well as a lower risk of death from other causes. That was true even after adjusting for factors such as body mass index, socioeconomic status and even smoking.
The protective effect was especially noticeable for people living alone, who have been found to have a higher risk for early death than those who live with other people. People who lived alone with a dog had a 33% reduced risk of death, and an 11% reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, than people who lived alone without a dog.
The study—with a sample size hundreds of times larger than any other studies on this topic—was not designed to show a cause-and-effect relationship between dog ownership and reduced risk of death or cardiovascular disease, or to determine why these factors may be linked.
It’s possible that people who choose to own dogs may simply be more active and in better health to begin with, say the authors.
Senior author Tove Fall, a veterinarian and associate professor of epidemiology says, it’s also possible and very likely that taking care of a dog prompts people to stay active and live a healthier lifestyle.
“I have met numerous owners that are convinced that their pet has been instrumental for them, often in terms of social support,” says Fall. “As a dog owner, I also notice that the people I meet during walks are often other dog owners, especially in bad weather.”

Source: http://www.healthdiary365.com/2017/11/18/new-research-prove-dog-owners-live-longer-healthier-lives/

Wat about eating a dog cos if owning a dog makes you live longer then eating a dog should of cos make you immortal.

But the Bible didn't tell us Methuselah had a dog and yet lived 900years plus.