Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How dog gut health changes as they get older
By Fernández-Pinteño, Anna et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2023·Department of Research and Development, Spain·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Age-associated changes in intestinal health biomarkers in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at the gut health of dogs of different ages, from puppies to seniors, by analyzing their fecal samples. Researchers found that senior dogs (over 7 years old) had some differences in their gut bacteria and levels of certain fatty acids compared to younger dogs. For instance, senior dogs had higher levels of specific bacteria but lower levels of some fatty acids that are important for gut health. While there were minor changes noted, the overall differences weren't significant enough to draw strong conclusions. More research is needed to better understand how aging affects gut health in dogs.
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Abstract
The gut microbiome is critical for maintaining host health. In healthy humans, the aging process is one of the main factors modulating the changes in the intestinal microbiota. However, little is known about the relationship between gut health, microbiota, and the aging process in dogs. The present study aims to explore the differences in the intestinal microbiota and intestinal health based on fecal biomarkers in a population of dogs of different ages. The study involved 106 dogs of different breeds aged between 0.2 and 15 years categorized as senior (>7 years;= 40), adult (2-7 years;= 50), and junior (< 2 years;= 16). Fecal samples were collected during the same period at the same facilities. The analysis included the following gut health indicators: 16S rRNA gene sequencing to investigate the differences in the fecal microbiota; qPCR to determine the dysbiosis index; fecal short-chain fatty acid concentrations; fecal calprotectin; and immunoglobulin A. Beta diversity analysis revealed a significant difference with a small effect size (= 0.003;= 0.087) among age categories based on the unweighted UniFrac metric, but no significance was observed based on the weighted UniFrac metric or Bray-Curtis distances. There were no significant differences in the alpha diversity measures or the fecal dysbiosis index among age categories. Senior dogs had significantly higher relative abundance proportions in phyla Bacteroidota and Pseudomonadota and the genus, but not on qPCR analysis. At the family level,, Uncl..1, andabundances were higher in the senior category than in the adult and/or junior categories. Relative proportions, but not concentrations of fecal acetate, were higher in the senior category, while butyrate, isovaleric acid, and valeric acid were lower. The valeric acid concentration was significantly lower in the senior category than in the adult category. Calprotectin and immunoglobulin A levels did not differ significantly across groups. In conclusion, this study observed multiple minor changes in the fecal microbiota composition and the relative amount of short-chain fatty acids in dogs among different age groups, but studies in larger populations representative of all ages are warranted to refine the present results.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37680388/