Longitudinal Study of Renal Health Screening in Apparently Healthy Aging Dogs

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Nephrology
• Canine Health

Background:

• Early detection of renal disease in aging dogs is critical.
• Combined assessment of functional, glomerular, and tubular markers aids diagnosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prospectively monitor renal function in senior dogs over two years.
• To identify biomarkers associated with early renal disease or mortality.

Main Methods:

• A two-year prospective longitudinal study involving 122 healthy senior and geriatric dogs.
• Evaluation of systolic blood pressure, serum markers (creatinine, symmetric dimethylarginine, cystatin C), and urinary markers (USG, UPC, uRBPcr).
• Survival analysis to determine the predictive value of baseline biomarkers for azotemic chronic kidney disease (CKD) or death.

Main Results:

• Over two years, 20% of dogs developed CKD, with 12% showing non-azotemic and 10% developing azotemic CKD.
• Proteinuria was not linked to azotemic CKD; however, muscle condition score, functional markers, and uRBPcr were predictive.
• Mortality showed weak associations with USG, UPC, and sCysC.

Conclusions:

• Muscle wasting and a combination of functional markers with uRBPcr demonstrated the highest predictive value for azotemic CKD onset.
• These findings are vital for early identification and management of kidney disease in apparently healthy older dogs.