Dementia risk in older dogs doubles with each added year of life

Aug. 25 () –

For the dogs over ten years, each extra year of life increases the relative risk of developing the neurodegenerative condition Canine Cognitive Dysfunction (CDI) by more than fifty% and the risk of developing DCC is nearly 6.5 times higher in inactive dogs compared to those who are very active.

The new findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, suggest that lifespan estimates could inform veterinarians about the advisability of screening dogs for CHD.

As with humans, cognitive function declines as dogs ageand animals affected by DCC may show signs such as memory deficits, loss of spatial awareness, impaired social interactions, and sleep disturbances. Previous estimates of DCC rates in dogs have ranged from 28% in dogs 11 to 12 years old to 68% in dogs 15 to 16 years old.

Sarah Yarborough, a researcher at the University of Washington (United States), and her colleagues studied the prevalence of DCC in a large sample of companion dogs participating in the Canine Aging Projecta longitudinal study of the aging of companion dogs in the United States.

A total of 15,019 dogs were included in the sample. Between December 2019 and 2020, owners completed two surveys called the Health and Life Experience Survey (with information on health status and physical activity), and the Canine Social and Learned Behavior survey, which included questions to check for DCC, such as if the dog did not recognize familiar people.

The dogs life expectancy it was classified into quartiles, with 19.5% in the last quartile of their lives, 24.4% in the third quartile, and 27% and 29.1% in the second and first quartiles. 1.4% of the dogs were classified as having DCC.

The authors report that when age alone is considered among dogs over ten years of age, the odds of being diagnosed with DCC increase by 68% for each additional year of age. When other factors such as health problems, spaying, activity levels, and breed type are controlled for, the chances of a dog developing DCC increase by 52% for each additional year of life.

The authors also note that, for dogs of the same breed, age, and health and spay status, the odds of CHD were 6.47 times higher in dogs whose owners reported not being activecompared to those whose owners declared to be very active.

Nevertheless, the authors caution that their study does not show a causal relationship between inactivity and CHD due to its cross-sectional natureand that cognitive impairment canin fact, lead to reduced activity. They conclude that further research is needed to better understand DCC.