GenPhySE, Université de Toulouse, INRAE, ENVT, Castanet Tolosan, 31326, France.
Lallemand SAS, 19 Rue Des Briquetiers, Blagnac, France.
BMC Vet Res. 2024 Sep 28;20(1):436. doi: 10.1186/s12917-024-04296-1.
As dogs age, they face various health challenges, and preventive care may be overlooked, impacting their quality of life. Frailty, a concept established in human medicine, has recently been applied to dogs using validated tools like the frailty index and frailty phenotype. This study aims to characterize frailty in senior pet dogs and investigate associated factors. To achieve this goal, 88 apparently healthy dogs, as reported by their owners, voluntarily participated in thorough consultations. These consultations included supplementary examinations such as urinary analyses, hematological assessments, and blood biochemistry. Additionally, owners completed questionnaires addressing their dog's overall health, cognitive and locomotor status, as well as their own attachment to the dog and personality traits. Subsequently, each dog was classified as robust or frail based on the presence of multiple criteria out of a set of five. All collected data underwent preliminary screening by a multiple factorial analysis, followed by binomial logistic regression to model frailty.
The final population consisted of 74 dogs, with a frailty prevalence of 41.9% (95% CI: 30.5 - 53.9). In the statistical analysis, older age of the dog, lower owner attachment score, lack of regular deworming, and a disparity in extraversion between owner and dog were identified as contributing factors to frailty.
This study emphasizes the importance of regular deworming and strong owner-pet attachment in reducing frailty in dogs. It underscores the significance of proactive pet care and highlights the complex relationship between owner-dog personalities and canine frailty. This research advocates for a holistic approach that considers both human and canine traits to promote better health outcomes.
随着狗年龄的增长，它们会面临各种健康挑战，而预防保健可能会被忽视，这会影响它们的生活质量。衰弱是在人类医学中确立的一个概念，最近已经使用经过验证的工具，如衰弱指数和衰弱表型，应用于狗。本研究旨在描述老年宠物狗的衰弱情况，并探讨相关因素。为了实现这一目标，88 只由主人报告为健康的犬自愿参与了全面的咨询。这些咨询包括尿分析、血液学评估和血液生化等补充检查。此外，主人还完成了关于他们的狗的整体健康、认知和运动状况以及他们对狗的依恋和个性特征的问卷。随后，根据一套五项标准中的多项标准，将每只狗归类为强壮或衰弱。所有收集的数据都经过了多因素分析的初步筛选，然后进行二项逻辑回归来建立衰弱模型。
最终的人群由 74 只狗组成，衰弱的患病率为 41.9%（95%可信区间：30.5-53.9）。在统计分析中，狗的年龄较大、主人的依恋评分较低、没有定期驱虫以及主人和狗之间的外向性差异被确定为衰弱的促成因素。
本研究强调了定期驱虫和主人与宠物之间强烈的依恋关系在减少狗的衰弱方面的重要性。它强调了积极的宠物保健的重要性，并突出了主人-狗个性与犬衰弱之间的复杂关系。这项研究提倡采用一种整体方法，同时考虑到人类和犬类的特征，以促进更好的健康结果。
