Dog size and patterns of disease history across the canine age spectrum: Results from the Dog Aging Project

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 19; no. 1; p. e0295840
• Main Authors: Nam, Yunbi, White, Michelle, Karlsson, Elinor K., Creevy, Kate E., Promislow, Daniel E. L., McClelland, Robyn L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 17.01.2024; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Age; Aging; Animals; Biology and Life Sciences; Body size; Brain tumors; Cancer; Categories; Censuses; Communicable diseases; Disease; Dog Diseases - epidemiology; Dog Diseases - pathology; Dogs; Ear; Health aspects; Heart; Heart diseases; Infectious diseases; Life span; Liver diseases; Longevity; Lung diseases; Medicine and Health Sciences; Neoplasms; Nose; Older people; Open data; Orthopedics; Polls & surveys; Prevalence; Respiratory diseases; Throat cancer; United Kingdom; New England; United States > US
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295840

Age in dogs is associated with the risk of many diseases, and canine size is a major factor in that risk. However, the size patterns are complex. While small size dogs tend to live longer, some diseases are more prevalent among small dogs. In this study we seek to quantify how the pattern of disease history varies across the spectrum of dog size, dog age, and their interaction. Utilizing owner-reported data on disease history from a substantial number of companion dogs enrolled in the Dog Aging Project, we investigate how body size, as measured by weight, associates with the lifetime prevalence of a reported condition and its pattern across age for various disease categories. We found significant positive associations between dog size and the lifetime prevalence of skin, bone/orthopedic, gastrointestinal, ear/nose/throat, cancer/tumor, brain/neurologic, endocrine, and infectious diseases. Similarly, dog size was negatively associated with lifetime prevalence of ocular, cardiac, liver/pancreas, and respiratory disease categories. Kidney/urinary disease prevalence did not vary by size. We also found that the association between age and lifetime disease prevalence varied by dog size for many conditions including ocular, cardiac, orthopedic, ear/nose/throat, and cancer. Controlling for sex, purebred vs. mixed-breed status, and geographic region made little difference in all disease categories we studied. Our results align with the reduced lifespan in larger dogs for most of the disease categories and suggest potential avenues for further examination.