[Relationship between keeping a companion animal and instrumental activity of daily living (IADL). A study of Japanese elderly living at home in Satomi Village].
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between the companionship of an animal and the level of Instrumental Activity of Daily Living (IADL) of elderly people living at home, and to consequently determine beneficial effects on the overall health of the elderly.


METHODS
For this study, 400 elderly people aged 65 years and over were randomly selected from among the 1,345 citizens of Satomi Village, Ibaraki Prefecture. Self-administered questionnaires were mailed to the selected subjects in March of 1999. In the survey, the respondents were asked if they could accomplish all seven IADL activities. Subjects for whom this was the case were classified as having no IADL disability. Elderly who answered "No" for even one were listed as having an IADL disability. Using the existence of an IADL disability as a dependent variable and various factors related to companion animals as independent variables, a logistic regression analysis was performed.


RESULTS
Out of the 400 individuals, 84.8% responded. With respect to the possession of a companion animal, the number of participants who never had a companion animal was 115 (35.8%); while 118 (36.8%) possessed a companion animal in the present. With regard to factors relevant to IADL of elderly people, the odds ratio (OR) adjusted for age and sex for participants who owned dogs was 0.53 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.27-0.99) relative to those who never had a companion animal: The difference was significant. For those respondents who indicated that their companion animals were their best friends, the OR was 0.48 (95% CI 0.23-0.99), and again significant. The OR tended to decrease with increase in the duration of owning a companion animal.


CONCLUSIONS
In this study, owning a dog and everyday contact with the companion animal were related to the IADL of the elderly living at home. It is possible that keeping a companion animal may be linked to better overall health in the elderly.
Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tsukuba.
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Saito
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Okada
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Ueji
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Kikuchi
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Kano
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male