Introduction: Neurocognitive disorders (NCDs) are disturbances highly related to age. This means that, with the increasing trend in life expectancy, there is also an increase in this diagnosis, although NCDs are not exclusively found in the population over 65 years old. Likely, they will increase in the coming years together with improvements in diagnosis. In addition to the use of medicines and rehabilitative techniques, pet therapy is also used. Pet therapy makes use of animals with therapeutic, rehabilitative, educational, and recreational purposes for people affected by physical, neuromotor, and psychiatric disorders. Pet therapy seems to be functional for increasing social and communication competencies, facilitating verbal and body language, increasing self-esteem, improving quality of life, and reducing anxiety/stress. Methods: This study was based on scientific papers and publications obtained from the PubMed and Google Scholar databases. Moreover, other articles from further cross-references were included. Specific database research criteria were (a) articles published in 2018 or later, (b) samples containing only adults over 65 years old, (c) written in English or Italian, and (d) on the topic of animal-assisted intervention. Results: Uncertain results were obtained. Although a positive effect was found, the included articles were of insufficient methodological rigor. Discussion/Conclusion: Although many studies reported positive results, these could not be generalized because of the numerous biases present (e.g., small sample size, lack of methodological rigor, lack of protocol, etc.). Future studies, therefore, should seek to address the limitations found in the analyzed studies.
Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord Extra 2021;11:198–206

中文翻译：

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宠物治疗对老年神经认知障碍患者的影响：简要回顾

介绍：神经认知障碍 (NCD) 是与年龄高度相关的障碍。这意味着，随着预期寿命的增加趋势，这种诊断也有所增加，尽管非传染性疾病并不只在 65 岁以上的人群中发现。随着诊断的改进，它们可能会在未来几年增加。除了使用药物和康复技术外，还使用宠物疗法。宠物疗法使用具有治疗、康复、教育和娱乐目的的动物，用于受身体、神经运动和精神疾病影响的人。宠物疗法似乎对提高社交和沟通能力、促进口头和肢体语言、增加自尊、改善生活质量和减少焦虑/压力很有作用。方法：本研究基于从 PubMed 和 Google Scholar 数据库获得的科学论文和出版物。此外，还包括来自进一步交叉引用的其他文章。具体的数据库研究标准是（a）2018 年或以后发表的文章，（b）仅包含 65 岁以上成年人的样本，（c）用英语或意大利语撰写，以及（d）关于动物辅助干预的主题。结果：获得了不确定的结果。尽管发现了积极的影响，但纳入的文章在方法学上不够严谨。讨论/结论：尽管许多研究报告了积极的结果，但由于存在许多偏差（例如，样本量小、缺乏方法学严谨性、缺乏协议等），这些结果无法一概而论。因此，未来的研究应寻求解决分析研究中发现的局限性。
Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord Extra 2021;11:198–206