The Benefit of Pets and Animal-Assisted Therapy to the Health of Older Individuals

Table 2

Studies on the use of animals on blood pressure.

Study	Type of study		Summary of results
Allen et al. [34]	Randomized, unblinded, prospective, controlled	48	Subjects had lower blood pressure and heart rates in response to an acute mental stressor in the presence of a pet
Friedmann et al. [35]	Controlled, unblinded, prospective	11	Blood pressure lower when animal and acute mental stressor present
Barker et al. [36]	Controlled, unblinded, prospective	10	Pet owners reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the presence of animal when mental stressor present
Anderson et al. [38]	Retrospective chart survey	5741	Pet owners had lower resting blood pressure
Wright et al. [39]	Mail questionnaire	1179	Pet owners had lower systolic, mean arteriolar, pulse pressures, risk of HTN (O.R. = 0.62)