Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How age, sex, and size affect dog blood tests and vitals
By Montoya Navarrete, Ana Luisa et al.·Published in BMC veterinary research·2021·Department of Veterinary Clinic·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Effect of age, sex, and body size on the blood biochemistry and physiological constants of dogs from 4 wk. to > 52 wk. of age.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at how age affects blood tests in dogs, comparing puppies to adult dogs. Researchers found that puppies had lower levels of certain proteins and waste products in their blood, while their heart rates and some enzyme levels were higher than those in adult dogs. This means that when your vet checks your puppy's blood, the results will be different than for an adult dog, and it's important to consider these age-related differences for accurate health assessments. Understanding these differences can help vets better interpret blood tests for puppies.
People also search for: puppy blood test results · dog blood chemistry differences by age · what do puppy blood tests show
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Blood biochemistry and reference intervals help to differentiate between healthy and ill dogs as well as to provide information for the prognosis, evaluation, and monitoring; however, these intervals are often obtained from adult animals. It is essential to understand that puppies and adults are physiologically different, which justifies the need to obtain age-specific biochemical reference intervals. The aim of this research was to assess the potential effect of age, sex, body size, and their interaction on routine biochemical analytes and physiological constants (body temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate). To carry out the research, we selected 197 healthy dogs of both sexes and different body sizes (small, medium and large) classified by age: group I (4-8 wk), group II (9-24 wk), group III (25-52 wk), and group IV (> 52 wk). The biochemical analysis included the measurement of the enzymatic activity of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and the concentrations of cholesterol, triglycerides, total proteins, albumin, globulins, glucose, urea, and creatinine. Statistical analyses used analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a general linear model (GLM), which allows the comparison of multiple factors at two or more levels (p < 0.05). RESULTS: The results of this study showed that ALT, total protein, albumin, globulin, urea, creatinine, and body temperature levels were lower in puppies than in adult dogs of group IV (p < 0.05), while the enzymatic activity of ALP, LDH, glucose concentration, and heart rate were higher. Whereas sex, body size and the interaction did not show a significant effect (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Some biochemical components are influenced by age. For this reason, this manuscript contributes with additional data for the clinical interpretation of blood biochemical results in puppies.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34362371/