If you needed one more reason to love your puppy, here’s a pretty good one: your furry best friend might help you live longer.

如果你还需要一个爱狗狗的理由，这里有一个很好的理由：这些毛茸茸的好朋友可能会帮助你活得更久。

Researchers in Sweden tracked more than 3.4 million Swedish people with no heart disease over a period of 12 years. Some owned dogs and some didn’t. By looking at how many died in the 12-year follow-up, and adjusting for relevant factors like age and sex, the scientists calculated the risk of death. It turns out that dog owners had a 20 percent lower risk of dying compared to people who didn’t have a dog. The benefits were particularly strong for dog owners who lived alone: they had a 33 percent lower risk of death, and an 8 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease, like stroke and heart failure.

瑞典的研究人员追踪了340万瑞典人12年，这些人一开始都没有心脏疾病。他们中的有些人养狗，有些人不养狗。在12年的随访中，科学家们记录了有多少人死亡。之后，科学家们根据年龄和性别等相关因素进行调整，从而计算出了死亡的风险。事实证明，与没养狗的人相比，养狗的人的死亡风险要低20%。对于独居的狗主人来说，这些好处尤其明显：不仅死亡风险降低了33%，而且患心血管疾病的风险也降低了8%。

Research has shown that living with pets has certain health benefits: people who own dogs tend to be more physically active, for instance, and have lower blood pressure. Today’s study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, adds to the body of research, especially in regards to cardiovascular disease — the number one killer in the world, including in the US. “It could be a very efficient lifestyle intervention to get a dog,” says senior study author Tove Fall, an associate professor in epidemiology at Uppsala University. “For some people that feel lonely or have problems of keeping a good lifestyle, this could be a good help.”

研究表明，与宠物生活在一起对健康有一定的好处。比如，养狗的人更加活跃，而且血压较低。发表在《科学报告》杂志上的一项研究，增加了对心血管疾病的研究。乌普萨拉大学的流行病学副教授托夫·福尔表示：“养狗可能是一种非常有效的干预方式。对于一些感到孤独或者生活方式不健康的人来说，这可能是一个很好的帮助”。

For the study, researchers analyzed 12 years of government-collected data on 3.4 million Swedish residents, which includes information on birth, sex, age, health, marital status, as well as death. Since 2001, dog owners in Sweden have had to register their dogs by using an ear tattoo or under-skin chip, so the researchers could also check which of those 3.4 million people owned a puppy. Dog owners were then compared with pet-less people: those who had a dog were found to have a lower risk of death due to cardiovascular disease or other causes during the 12-year follow-up. Dog owners who lived alone had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, as did people who had hunting dogs compared to other breeds.

为了进行这项研究，研究人员从政府那里拿到了这些瑞典居民的信息，其中包括关于出生时间、性别、年龄、健康状况、婚姻状况等信息。自2001年以来，瑞典的狗主人不得不使用耳朵纹身或者皮下芯片来注册他们的狗，因此研究人员还可以检查这340万人中的哪些养了狗。然后将狗主人与那些没有宠物的人进行比较：发现养狗的人在12年后因心血管疾病或其他原因而死亡的风险较低。

The exact reasons behind the results aren’t clear: it could be that people who own dogs live longer because they’re more physically active, or are less stressed, Fall tells The Verge. People who live alone may benefit even more because they’re the only ones taking care of the dog, so they’re forced to go take the pooch out for a walk. Single people might also get a stronger emotional support from their furry friends since they don’t live with a husband or have kids, Fall says. “I got my first dog when I was single and she was my best friend,” she says. “She was super important.”

结果背后的确切原因还不清楚：可能是因为狗狗使他们更加活跃或者压力更小，所以养狗的人活得更久。独居的人可能会受益更多，因为他们是唯一照顾狗的人，所以他们被迫带着狗出去散步。单身的人也可能从狗狗那里得到更强烈的情感支持，因为他们没有和伴侣住在一起，也没有孩子。

The study has some obvious limitations: even though the researchers adjusted their estimates for confounding factors such as income and education, there’s a lot they still don’t know about their study subjects. For example, it could be that people who live alone and have dogs have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease because they’re generally healthier to begin with. Getting a dog is time-consuming and expensive, so if you’re dealing with an important health issue and live by yourself, maybe you’d think twice about it. The study subjects were also all from Sweden, so results could be different in different countries.

当然了，这项研究也有着明显的局限性：即使研究人员调整了他们对于收入和教育等因素的估计，但是他们对研究对象仍然有很多地方不了解。例如，养狗的人患心血管疾病的风险较低，可能是因为他们一开始就比较健康。另外，养一条狗既费时又昂贵，如果你正在处理一个重要的健康问题并独自生活，也许你会三思而后行。还有一点，研究对象都来自瑞典，不同国家的研究结果可能不同。