# Timing and duration of dog walking and dog owner’s chronotype in relation to incident depression risk among middle to older-aged female nurses

## TL;DR

Dog ownership and morning dog walking were not generally linked to lower depression risk in older female nurses, but evening chronotype dog owners may benefit from morning walks.

## Contribution

The study explores how dog ownership and morning dog walking affect depression risk, particularly in relation to chronotype.

## Key findings

- Dog ownership was not associated with a lower risk of depression.
- Evening chronotype dog owners had higher depression risk compared to non-owners of the same chronotype.
- Morning dog walking may help evening chronotypes reduce depression risk, though results were not statistically significant.

## Abstract

We examined associations between dog ownership, morning dog walking and its timing and duration, and depression risk in female nurses, exploring effect modification by chronotype. We hypothesized that dog ownership and morning walking with the dog are associated with lower odds of depression, and that the latter is particularly beneficial for evening chronotypes by helping them to synchronize their biological clock with the solar system.

26,169 depression-free US women aged 53–72 from the Nurses’ Health Study 2 (NHS2) were prospectively followed from 2017–2019. We used age- and multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) for depression according to dog ownership, and morning dog walking, duration, and timing.

Overall, there was no association between owning a dog (ORvs_no_pets = 1.12, 95%CI = 0.91–1.37), morning dog walking (ORvs_not = 0.87, 95%CI = 0.64–1.18), or the duration (OR>30min vs. ≤15mins = 0.68, 95%CI = 0.35–1.29) or timing of morning dog walks (ORafter9am vs. before7am = 1.06, 95%CI = 0.54–2.05) and depression. Chronotype of dog owners appeared to modify these associations. Compared to women of the same chronotype but without pets, dog owners with evening chronotypes had a significantly increased odds of depression (OR = 1.60, 95%CI = 1.12–2.29), whereas morning chronotypes did not (OR = 0.94, 95%CI = 0.71–1.23). Further, our data suggested that evening chronotypes benefited more from walking their dog themselves in the morning (OR = 0.75, 95%CI = 0.46–1.23, Pintx = 0.064;) than morning chronotypes.

Overall, dog ownership was not associated with depression risk though it was increased among evening chronotypes. Walking their dog in the morning might help evening chronotypes to lower their odds of depression, though more data are needed to confirm this finding.