Two Portuguese researchers studied 80 patients suffering from a type of depression known as treatment-resistant major depressive disorder, and found that adopting a pet enhanced the effects of antidepressant medications in a large portion of the volunteers.
Jorge Mota-Pereira and Daniela Fonte of Clinica Medico in Seciatrica invited all participants to adopt pets as part of the study, and 33 agreed, including 20 who chose dogs and 7 who preferred cats.
Their depressive symptoms were evaluated over a 12-week period, with examinations taking place in the fourth and eighth weeks.
At the end of the study, Pereira and Fonte found that more than a third of the pet adoption group had improved their scores on the Hamilton Depression Scale and the Global Assessment of Functioning, which determined whether their symptoms were considered mild or severe.
The Porto-based researchers concluded that the findings suggest that pets can be used as an effective aid to traditional treatments for depression. They also added that those who adopted pets developed “a strong affinity and companionship that contributed significantly to improved mental health.”
But in his post on the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest blog, writer Christian Gart points out that the study relied on the desire of each person to adopt a pet, not the random selection of some volunteers and their assignment to raise the animals, which would have affected the outcome.
He wrote that although there was a correlation between adopters and controls regarding symptoms of primary depression, it was possible that other differences could exist.
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