This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: As dogs age, many develop more than one chronic health condition. New research from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) shows those conditions can dramatically shorten a dog's lifespan, highlighting the importance of managing multiple diseases together rather than individually.
In a recent study published in GeroScience, researchers with the Dog Aging Project found that dogs with five or more chronic diseases were more than twice as likely to die as dogs living with only one diagnosed condition, regardless of their age or size. The findings suggest that, as in humans, chronic diseases interact in ways that make their combined effects more harmful than each condition alone. "Multimorbidity refers to the fact that individuals often become ill with more than one chronic disease at the same time," said Dr.
Kate Creevy, chief veterinary officer for the Dog Aging Project and a professor in the VMBS' Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences. "We know in people that being sick with more than one thing is frequently more damaging to health and survival than simply adding up the effects of two different diseases. We wanted to understand if the same thing is true for dogs." Rather than simply identifying which diseases are most common, the researchers hope the work will eventually help veterinarians decide where to focus treatment when pets are living with multiple chronic conditions.
Many owners face difficult decisions about medications, specialist visits and treatment costs as their pets age. Understanding which diseases have the greatest influence on long-term health could help veterinarians focus care where it matters most. "If we can identify which conditions are most likely to cause harm or contribute to other problems, we can help owners prioritize their health care investment, the time they spend, the money they spend and the challenges of managing multiple therapies," Creevy said.
"This is really just the first step in that research pathway." For the study, researchers analyzed health information from more than 50,000 dogs enrolled in the Dog Aging Project; participating owners report any medical diagnoses their dogs have received each year, allowing researchers to follow changes in health over time. The team compared the health histories of dogs that had died with those that were still living, accounting for differences in age at enrollment and the length of time each dog had participated in the project. The analysis confirmed that dogs, like humans, accumulate more chronic conditions as they age and that those conditions can become intertwined.
For example, a dog with osteoarthritis may become less active and gain excess weight, while excess weight can also increase a dog's risk of developing osteoarthritis. More importantly, the study showed that the number of diseases a dog develops has a substantial impact on survival, even after accounting for factors such as age and size. "We are all eventually going to die, but this analysis asked the question: for any given year of life, how likely is the dog to die this year?" Creevy said.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
