Getting old isn’t so ruff — as long as a pet pooch is by your side.
People who own dogs live longer lives with less chance of heart disease, according to new research.
In the largest-ever study on dog owning, researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden examined the health records of 3.4 million people and found Fido was most likely to boost the health of single people.
Adults who live alone with a pooch were 33 percent less likely to die during the 12-year study than those who didn’t, according to the report, published Friday in the journal Scientific Reports.
Single adults with dogs were also 36 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease, researchers said.
“Dog ownership was especially prominent as a protective factor in persons living alone, which is a group reported previously to be at higher risk of cardiovascular disease and death,” the study’s lead author, Mwenya Mubanga, said in a statement.
“Perhaps a dog may stand in as an important family member in the single households,” Mubanga added.
The health power of Man’s Best Friend may be linked to taking walks, researchers said.
“We know that dog owners in general have a higher level of physical activity which could be one explanation to the observed results,” said Tove Fall, a professor at Uppsala University said, according to ABC.
The positive health effects of owning a dog was less dramatic for people with family members or partners. The chances of heart-disease related death was decreased by 15 percent for non-single people with pooches, according to the study.
The team of researchers analyzed the health records of Europeans ages 40 to 80 between 2001 and 2012.