Table 1.
Baseline demographic and health characteristics in older community-dwelling Japanese by dog and cat ownership experience.
| Variable | Experience with dog ownership | Experience with cat ownership | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current (n = 959, 8.6 %) | Past and never (n = 10235, 91.4 %) |
Current (n = 704, 6.3 %) | Past and never (n = 10490, 93.7 %) |
|
| Sex (%, female) | 54.4 | 51.2 | 52.1 | 51.5 |
| Age (%) | ||||
| 65–74 years | 59.2 | 46.7 | 60.4 | 47.0 |
| 75–84 years | 40.8 | 53.3 | 39.6 | 53.0 |
| Household size | 2.7 (1.2) | 2.2 (1.1) | 2.6 (1.1) | 2.3 (1.1) |
| Marital status (%) | ||||
| Married | 74.0 | 66.5 | 73.9 | 66.7 |
| Divorced | 5.8 | 6.1 | 5.7 | 6.1 |
| Widowed | 18.1 | 19.7 | 16.3 | 19.8 |
| Single | 2.1 | 7.7 | 4.2 | 7.4 |
| Educational attainment (%) | ||||
| Elementary school | 0.8 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.5 |
| Middle school | 17.2 | 23.8 | 19.9 | 23.5 |
| High school | 37.6 | 38.6 | 35.4 | 38.7 |
| College, university, or graduate school | 42.1 | 34.2 | 41.6 | 34.4 |
| Other | 2.2 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.9 |
| Equivalent income (%) | ||||
| <1,000,000yen | 6.5 | 7.3 | 5.4 | 7.4 |
| 1,000,000yen-2,500,000yen | 26.2 | 33.6 | 28.8 | 33.3 |
| 2,500,000yen-4,000,000yen | 22.7 | 26.0 | 26.7 | 25.7 |
| ≥4,000,000yen | 26.4 | 19.0 | 24.0 | 19.3 |
| Unknown | 18.1 | 14.0 | 15.1 | 14.3 |
| Employment (%, present) | 35.6 | 27.3 | 36.0 | 27.4 |
| Chronic disease (%) | ||||
| Hypertension | 55.2 | 54.3 | 51.2 | 54.5 |
| Hyperlipidemia | 44.6 | 42.1 | 44.0 | 42.2 |
| Heart disease | 21.3 | 22.0 | 20.4 | 22.1 |
| Stroke | 8.1 | 7.6 | 9.1 | 7.5 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 18.3 | 18.7 | 18.0 | 18.7 |
| Bone and joint disease | 29.8 | 31.9 | 30.7 | 31.8 |
| Lung respiratory disease | 13.5 | 15.3 | 14.9 | 15.1 |
| Cancer | 17.8 | 16.6 | 17.7 | 16.6 |
| Hospitalization during the past year (%) | 14.7 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 12.7 |
| Fall during the past year (%) | 15.3 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 15.0 |
| Alcohol consumption status (%) | ||||
| Current | 57.4 | 54.8 | 55.9 | 55.0 |
| Past | 5.9 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.1 |
| Never | 36.7 | 36.8 | 35.7 | 36.8 |
| Smoking status (%) | ||||
| Current | 14.0 | 12.4 | 16.2 | 12.3 |
| Past | 33.8 | 32.7 | 33.3 | 32.8 |
| Never | 52.2 | 54.8 | 50.4 | 54.9 |
| Sleep duration (min) | 396 (69) | 396 (74) | 397 (74) | 396 (73) |
| Food variety (score) | 3.0 (2.2) | 3.2 (2.2) | 3.2 (2.2) | 3.2 (2.2) |
| TMIG-IC (score) | 11.6 (1.8) | 11.4 (1.9) | 11.4 (2.0) | 11.4 (1.9) |
| Mobility limitation (%) | 25.3 | 29.7 | 28.3 | 29.4 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 23.0 (3.3) | 22.7 (3.2) | 22.7 (3.3) | 22.7 (3.2) |
| Motor fitness scale (score) | 11.0 (3.1) | 10.6 (3.3) | 10.8 (3.2) | 10.6 (3.3) |
| Regular exercise habit (%) | 77.8 | 73.5 | 70.1 | 74.1 |
| Frailty (%) | 20.8 | 23.9 | 23.2 | 23.7 |
| Interaction with neighbors (%) | ||||
| Significant relationship | 25.5 | 23.1 | 23.6 | 23.2 |
| Conversation | 40.6 | 37.1 | 40.4 | 37.2 |
| Exchange of greetings only | 29.7 | 32.9 | 31.0 | 32.7 |
| No social contact | 4.2 | 6.9 | 5.0 | 6.8 |
| Social isolation (%) | 23.9 | 32.7 | 29.6 | 32.1 |
| Trust in neighbors (%, yes) | 81.1 | 76.8 | 81.2 | 76.9 |
| Frequency of going outdoors (%) | ||||
| At least once a day | 81.2 | 74.2 | 76.8 | 74.6 |
| Once every 2–3 days | 14.6 | 18.5 | 14.0 | 18.5 |
| Less than once a week | 4.2 | 7.3 | 9.2 | 6.9 |
| Subjective happiness (%) | ||||
| Happy, rather happy | 95.0 | 93.6 | 96.1 | 93.5 |
| Rather unhappy, unhappy | 5.0 | 6.4 | 3.9 | 6.5 |
| Self-rated health (%) | ||||
| Excellent, good | 83.2 | 81.0 | 83.7 | 80.9 |
| Fair, poor | 16.8 | 19.0 | 16.3 | 19.1 |
| GDS Short-version (score) | 1.2 (1.2) | 1.3 (1.3) | 1.3 (1.3) | 1.3 (1.3) |
| WHO-5 (score) | 63.5 (22.9) | 60.9 (24.1) | 61.4 (23.7) | 61.1 (24.0) |
BMI, body mass index; TMIG-IC, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index of Competence; GDS, Geriatric Depression Scale; WHO-5, World Health Organization Five Well-Being Index.