Pet ownership and psychosocial outcomes among the oldest old in Germany during the Covid-19 pandemic. Findings based on the nationally representative “Old Age in Germany (D80+)”

IF 3.6 3区医学 Q2 GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY

International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry Pub Date : 2024-07-17 DOI:10.1002/gps.6127

André Hajek, Karl Peltzer, Nicola Veronese, Hans-Helmut König, Razak M. Gyasi

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objectives

To examine the association between pet ownership and psychosocial outcomes among the oldest old in Germany during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Methods/Design

Data from the “Old Age in Germany (D80+)” study were used, a large, nationwide representative study covering both individuals living at home and individuals in nursing homes aged 80 years and above (n = 2867 individuals). The telephone interviews were conducted from May to October 2021. Established tools (e.g., “Short Form of the Depression in Old Age Scale”, DIA-S4) were used to quantify the outcomes. Five groups were generated: (1) no pet ownership, (2) having at least one dog (but no other pets), (3) having at least one cat (but no other pets), (4) having at least one other pet (but neither dogs nor cats), (5) having at least two different types of pets (in any combination).

Results

Multiple linear regressions showed that compared to individuals without a pet, individuals having at least one dog had significantly lower loneliness levels (β = −0.21, p < 0.01). In the fully-adjusted models, other forms of pet ownership were not significantly associated with the outcomes examined.

Conclusion

Particularly living with a dog was associated with lower loneliness among the oldest old people in Germany. If living with a dog is in line with the preferences and attitudes of the very old, this could be a strategy for reducing loneliness in this age group.

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在 Covid-19 大流行期间，德国最年长者拥有宠物的情况和社会心理状况。调查结果基于具有全国代表性的 "德国老年人（D80+）"。

目的方法/设计：采用了 "德国老年（D80+）"研究的数据，这是一项具有全国代表性的大型研究，涵盖了 80 岁及以上的居家老人和养老院老人（n = 2867 人）。电话访谈于 2021 年 5 月至 10 月进行。研究使用既定工具（如 "老年抑郁量表简表"，DIA-S4）对结果进行量化。共分为五组：（1）不养宠物；（2）至少养一只狗（但不养其他宠物）；（3）至少养一只猫（但不养其他宠物）；（4）至少养一只其他宠物（但既不养狗也不养猫）；（5）至少养两种不同类型的宠物（任意组合）：在德国，与狗一起生活的老年人的孤独感尤其较低。如果与狗一起生活符合高龄老人的喜好和态度，那么这可能是减少该年龄组孤独感的一种策略。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 医学-精神病学

CiteScore

6.10

自引率

2.50%

发文量

168

审稿时长

4-8 weeks

期刊介绍： The rapidly increasing world population of aged people has led to a growing need to focus attention on the problems of mental disorder in late life. The aim of the Journal is to communicate the results of original research in the causes, treatment and care of all forms of mental disorder which affect the elderly. The Journal is of interest to psychiatrists, psychologists, social scientists, nurses and others engaged in therapeutic professions, together with general neurobiological researchers. The Journal provides an international perspective on the important issue of geriatric psychiatry, and contributions are published from countries throughout the world. Topics covered include epidemiology of mental disorders in old age, clinical aetiological research, post-mortem pathological and neurochemical studies, treatment trials and evaluation of geriatric psychiatry services.