Establishing a clinically applicable frailty phenotype screening tool for aging dogs

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Veterinary Medicine
• Canine Health

Background:

• Frailty is a clinical syndrome of accumulating impairments leading to increased vulnerability.
• Dogs share similarities with humans in aging and age-related diseases, making them valuable models for frailty research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a simple frailty phenotype screening tool for dogs.
• To assess the tool's predictive value for short-term mortality in a diverse canine population.

Main Methods:

• Phase 1: Retrospective analysis of 51 dogs to identify frailty measures across five domains.
• Development of a frailty phenotype using examination findings and owner-reported data.
• Phase 2: Prospective evaluation of the phenotype in 198 dogs (≥9 years old) across various veterinary services.

Main Results:

• The frailty phenotype independently predicted short-term (6-month) all-cause mortality (hazard ratio = 4.71).
• Purebred dogs showed higher mortality risk (1.85 times) compared to mixed breeds; age, sex, and weight were not significant predictors.
• The tool demonstrated consistent performance across different hospital services.

Conclusions:

• The developed frailty phenotype is a valuable clinical screening tool for early risk identification and intervention in dogs.
• This tool can assist owners and veterinarians in clinical decision-making and promote further frailty research in canines.