Pets in household
LASA filenames:
LASA012 / LASAB212
Contact: Natasja van Schoor
Background
Pets in the household can be socially and emotionally rewarding [1]. Pets can be nice company and being responsible for a pet may makes older people feel useful. Walking a dog is also likely to increase health and physical activity levels [2, 3, 4]. In addition, it may increase the chance of meeting other people outdoors. Having pets may also positively impact cognitive health [4]. On the negative side, having a dog or cat in the household appeared to be an important predictor for recurrent falls in an earlier LASA study [5].
Measurement instruments in LASA
During the main interview, it was asked whether the respondent has a pet. Answer categories were: no; yes, a dog; yes, a cat; yes, a bird; yes, other (please specify). It was possible to give multiple answers.
Questionnaires
LASAB012 / LASAC012 / LASAD012 / LASAE012 / LAS2B012 / LASAF012 / LASAG012 / LASAH012 / LAS3B012 / LASAI012 / LASAJ012 / LASAK012 (main interview, in Dutch)
Variable information
LASAB012 / LASAC012 / LASAD012 / LASAE012 / LAS2B012 / LASAF012 / LASAG012 / LASAH012 / LAS3B012 / LASAI012 / LASAJ012 / LASAK012;
LASAB212 (specification of other pets)
(pdf)
Availability of information per wave ¹
| B | C | D | E | 2B* | F | G | H | 3B* | MB* | I | J | K | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pets in household | Ma | Ma | Ma | Ma | Ma | Ma | Ma | Ma | Ma | - | Ma | Ma | Ma | |
| Specification of other pets | Ma | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
¹ More information about the LASA data collection waves is available here.
* 2B=baseline second cohort;
3B=baseline third cohort;
MB=migrants: baseline first cohort
Ma=data collected in main interview
Previous use in LASA
Pluijm, S.M.F., Smit, J.H., Tromp, E.A.M., Stel, V.S., Deeg, D.J.H., Bouter, L.M., Lips, P.T.A. A risk profile for identifying community-dwelling elderly with a high risk of recurrent falling: results of a 3-year prospective study. Osteoporosis International, 17, 417-425. (2006)
References
[1] Meier C, Maurer J. Buddy or burden? Patterns, perceptions, and experiences of pet ownership among older adults in Switzerland. Eur J Ageing 2022; 19: 1201–1212.
[2] Curl AL, Bibbo J, Johnson RA. Dog Walking, the Human–Animal Bond and Older Adults’ Physical Health. cite as: Gerontologist 2017; 5: 930-939.
[3] Friedmann E, Gee NR, Simonsick EM, Barr E, Resnick B, Werthmann E, Adesanya I. Pet Ownership and Maintenance of Physical Function in Older Adults—Evidence From the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA). Innovation in Aging, 2023, 7, 1–14 https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igac080
[4] Friedmann E, Gee NR, Simonsick EM, Studenski S, Resnick B, Barr E, Kitner-Triolo M, Hackney A. Pet Ownership Patterns and Successful Aging Outcomes in Community Dwelling Older Adults. Front Vet Sci. 2020 Jun 25;7:293. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2020.00293. eCollection 2020.
[5] Pluijm, S.M.F., Smit, J.H., Tromp, E.A.M., Stel, V.S., Deeg, D.J.H., Bouter, L.M., Lips, P.T.A. A risk profile for identifying community-dwelling elderly with a high risk of recurrent falling: results of a 3-year prospective study. Osteoporosis International, 17, 417-425. (2006)
Date of last update: May, 2023
