Fish or bird ownership showed no significant link to slower cognitive decline in study with implications for ageing societies
As global population ages and dementia rates climb, scientists may have found an unexpected ally in the fight against cognitive decline.
Cats and dogs may be exercising more than just your patience: they could be keeping parts of your brain ticking over too. In a potential breakthrough for preventive health, researchers have found that owning a four-pawed friend is linked to slower cognitive decline by potentially preserving specific brain functions as we grow older.
Interestingly, the associations differ depending on the animal: dog owners were found to retain sharper memory, both immediate and delayed, while cat owners showed slower decline in verbal fluency.
OK but so could a fidget spinner or an air fryer.
The question is if it does or not, not if it “could”.
Very few things are proved definitively in science. You test a hypothesis with statistics, which always carries a margin of error. Usually, it’s 5% - the probability that your data randomly supports your hypothesis, even though there’s no true relationship.
Personally, I prefer when journalists coach their language to avoid overstating the truth.
I know that, that’s common knowledge.
But if the research shows anything that’s statistically significant, it would show a level of benefit.
To say that it could as in hypothetically, implies the research didn’t really show anything one way or the other.
You could say the same of homeopathic medicine. It could be a benefit, except nothing has ever shown it to be.
Personally I’m pretty sure owning a pet like a dog or a cat is indeed beneficial, so I find it disappointing if this is not shown in research.
I believe there has been studies made that show lower rate of heart conditions among pet owners. There is also a sort of consensus that it helps psychologically for instandce against depression.
So it’s not a long stretch to think it “could” help brain functions in other ways too.
It’s just disappointing that according to the headline, the study failed to show that. Which made me not care to read it.
It proved there were benefits, read the article.