Allen finds pets improve health

By JENNIFER LEWANDOWSKI
Reporter Staff

Karen Allen is a believer that having a pet in your home can improve your mental and physical health.

The UB research scientist makes no bones about her claim that pets play an integral role in reducing the effects of stress in people's lives. Allen shared the findings of several studies she has conducted that show pets can have a calming effect on individuals by preventing blood pressure from skyrocketing and keeping heart rate down with a "UB at Sunrise" audience on Oct. 21.

"Pet ownership brings down responses to mental stress," Allen said, a finding that she said is not entirely new. Past studies, she said, have linked the presence of a pet to survival after a heart attack, a reduced risk for cardiovascular disease and an increased sense of well-being for individuals with Alzheimer's disease and AIDS.

Allen's research, however, focuses on how having a pet-specifically a cat or dog-can diminish or buffer the effects of a stressful situation. Her studies, she said, "explore the degree to which pets can influence responses to psychological and physical stress."

One study looked at the human response to the imposition of stress via mental and physical stressors, and monitored the results of individuals in and out of the presence of a pet, and with and without a spouse or friend in the room. Another study investigated what role pets play in conflict and resolution between couples.

"Why would anyone study people and pets?" Allen asked.

Perhaps because more than half of the homes in the United States are host to a pet and people consider their pets family members who understand feelings, she said.

Allen wasn't always interested in studying pets. A graduate of the Julliard School of Music in New York City, she earned her doctoral degree in music theory from Heidelberg University in Germany and for four years performed with the Heidelberg Chamber Orchestra as principal clarinetist.

Two years later, Allen received a master's degree in information science from UB and worked for 12 years as an associate professor and librarian in the Health Sciences Library. Allen earned a second doctoral degree-in psychology-from UB and now serves as the assistant director for the Center for the Study of the Behavioral and Social Aspects of Health. It was her work as a research scientist and research assistant professor in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, however, that enabled her to focus her energies on pets' roles in human health.

For her research studies, Allen visited 1,000 one-pet homes in the Buffalo area, finding that animal companions provide emotional support and act as confidants.

Allen said couples who have a pet in their home experience a significantly greater closeness than those who don't.

"Couples tell me all the time that when they're arguing, they realize how ridiculous (it is) because the dog looks upset," she said. Pets can be comforting, too. Allen's 11-year-old border collie, Flannigan, has such an effect.

"When I was watching a horror movie, I could feel my heart pounding," she said. "When my dog came in, I could feel it (subside)."

And pets can make great listeners, Allen said, pointing out that many people choose to disclose to their pets-rather than to a spouse or friend-problems and feelings. Pet owners who interacted with humans were likely to disclose such information 60 percent of the time, while owners who interacted with their pets were likely to disclose 100 percent of the time, she found, adding that it's not uncommon for pet owners to "try out" a conversation on a pet before talking with another person.

Allen also found that pet owners have more interactions with other people than do individuals without pets.

Allen noted that having a pet isn't for everyone, and that the result of having a pet in a home isn't always going to be positive. Not everyone is a pet person.

"I've never tried to say this is for everyone, everywhere," she said. The person for whom a pet is more like an object, Allen said, "can expect the rewards (that come) from a pillow or a lamp."

Allen, however, is a firm believer that a beloved pet can reduce human responses to stress.

"A lack of supportive relationships has been implicated in hypertension and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality," she said. "For people who like and want them, pets can act as buffers to acute and long-term stress, and can complement the support provided by other people."