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Researchers have found that dogs and humans share strikingly similar metabolic patterns associated with lifespan, strengthening the case for using pet dogs to study aging and long-term health.
In a study published in The Journals of Gerontology, researchers analyzed metabolites—small molecules produced during normal processes in the body—in blood samples from dogs participating in the Dog Aging Project.
They found that combinations of certain metabolites were linked to earlier or later death in dogs, with patterns closely resembling those previously identified in humans.
“The molecules that are risky for dogs or protective against a sooner death are very similar to those in people,” said Dr Kate Creevy, chief veterinary officer of the Dog Aging Project and a professor at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
The findings suggest that dogs and humans share important features of the biological processes underlying aging, she said, highlighting the value of pet dogs as models for studying lifespan and healthy aging.
Rather than examining individual molecules, researchers analyzed thousands of metabolites together to identify broader patterns, which Creevy described as a biological “fingerprint” associated with better or worse outcomes.
Such biomarkers can provide a snapshot of processes occurring inside cells and may help scientists investigate the roles of metabolism, inflammation and cellular responses to stress in aging.
The researchers cautioned that an association between a biomarker and mortality does not necessarily mean the biomarker causes the outcome. However, identifying such patterns can help scientists investigate the mechanisms behind aging and identify potential targets for improving health.
The team then compared its findings with five large published studies of human mortality that used similar metabolite-based methods. The researchers found broad similarities between metabolic signals linked to earlier or later death in dogs and humans.
The consistency provides further evidence that dogs and humans share fundamental biological features of aging and could make companion dogs valuable models for understanding lifespan and age-related health.