Impact of pet ownership on elderly Australians' use of medical services: an analysis using Medicare data
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A F Jorm1, P A Jacomb, H Christensen
1NHMRC Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Centre, Australian National University, Canberra. Anthony.Jorm@anu.edu.au
Objectives:
To determine whether pet ownership by elderly people is associated with lower use of health services.
Design:
Survey of physical and mental health, and retrospective 12-month review of Medicare records of the number of general practitioner and specialist services.
Participants And Setting:
Elderly people living in Canberra (Australian Capital Territory) and Queanbeyan (New South Wales), surveyed in 1994 for the second stage of a larger longitudinal study.
Results:
Elderly pet owners did not differ from non-owners on any of the physical or mental health measures or in use of health services.
Conclusion:
Given the high use of health services by older people, our findings suggest that the claim that pet ownership leads to savings in health services should be viewed with caution.
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