Woman's best friend! Spending time with dogs slows ageing in women, study finds

They're known as 'man's best friend', but dogs may be especially beneficial company for women. 

A new study reveals how pooches have an extraordinary anti–ageing effect on ladies.

According to the authors, spending just one hour per week with a dog slows a key indicator of cellular ageing known as 'telomere length'. 

For women, dogs may be a cheap and effective form of treatment to help reduce the physical toll of stress and improve cellular health, say the experts. 

But whether dogs have a similar effect on men as well is yet to be seen. 

Study author Dr Cheryl Krause–Parello, associate professor of nursing at Florida Atlantic University (FAU), thinks animals have positive 'biopsychosocial' effects on women. 

'Nontraditional approaches like connecting with animals can offer meaningful support,' she said.

'These relationships provide emotional safety and stability, which can be especially powerful for women.' 

For the study, the researchers recruited 28 women aged 32 to 72, all of whom were veterans with post–traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – the anxiety disorder caused by stressful, frightening or distressing events.

The study focused on female veterans because 'they have been underrepresented and understudied in research'. 

The women were randomly assigned to two groups, both of which took part in one–hour sessions each week for eight weeks. 

In the first group, women volunteered to train service dogs for other fellow veterans in need, while in the second 'comparison' group the women only watched dog training videos.

Wearable monitors fitted to the participants measured biological indicators of stress, including heart rate variability (the amount of time between heartbeats), while telomere length – a marker of cellular aging – was determined through saliva samples.

Telomeres are the chunks of DNA at the end of chromosomes that act like an aglet on a shoelace and stop the genetic material from unravelling and becoming damaged. 

Psychological indicators of stress, meanwhile, were assessed using questionnaires measuring PTSD symptoms, perceived stress, and anxiety at multiple points during the study. 

According to the results, telomere length increased in the service dog training group, indicating slower biological ageing.

The effect was most pronounced in the veterans with combat exposure, which is associated with witnessing traumatic and violent events during war. 

In contrast, those in the control group showed a decrease in telomere length, indicating accelerated rather than deaccelerated ageing. 

On the psychological front, both groups reported significant reductions in PTSD symptoms, anxiety and perceived stress over the eight–week period. 

However, the mental health improvements were similar across groups, suggesting that simply participating in the study offered therapeutic value. 

Overall, the findings, published in the journal Behavioral Sciences, reveal 'promising' biological benefits associated with service dog training, particularly for veterans with combat experience, which could be an alternative to drug therapy. 

They suggest spending just one hour per week with animals can help those living with PTSD on the cellular level – meaning you don't have to necessarily own a dog to get the benefits. 

'Female veterans face unique reintegration challenges that are often overlooked, and traditional PTSD treatments don't always meet their needs, said Dr Krause–Parello, who is wife of a veteran who was a first responder during 9/11. 

'But not all veterans can care for a service animal, so animal–related volunteerism may offer similar healing benefits without the burden of ownership.' 

The study, described as 'groundbreaking', was started before the Covid pandemic and had to be halted before being resumed in line with public safety protocols. 

'The pandemic may have had a serious negative effect on stress levels that had nothing to do with the study itself,' the team say. 

What's more, the results of this study 'should be viewed with caution due to the small sample size' – which focused solely on female veterans in the US with PTSD.

In the future, equivalent studies may look at the effect of dogs on the biological and psychological wellbeing of male veterans, or a wider sample from society. 

It follows a similar study last year that found service dogs reduced the severity of PTSD in a sample of veterans, about three–quarters of whom were male.

Those with service dogs had milder depression and anxiety, improved moods and better quality of life, the University of Arizona researchers found.