Overview
- Researchers analyzed 28 female veterans who volunteered for a program that involved one hour per week of hands-on work with service dogs.
- Participants were randomly assigned to either train service dogs or watch dog-training videos as a comparison condition.
- The training group showed increased telomere length, while the video group showed decreases, indicating divergent aging trajectories.
- Mental health measures improved similarly across both groups, though authors noted potential benefits for those under psychological stress or with combat experience.
- Biomarkers included telomere length, saliva-based stress indicators, and heart rate variability from wearable monitors, with findings characterized as preliminary due to the small sample.