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Associations between physical activity and cognitive dysfunction in older companion dogs: results from the Dog Aging Project

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Abstract

Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is a form of dementia that shares many similarities with Alzheimer’s disease. Given that physical activity is believed to reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease in humans, we explored the association between physical activity and cognitive health in a cohort of companion dogs, aged 6–18 years. We hypothesized that higher levels of physical activity would be associated with lower (i.e., better) scores on a cognitive dysfunction rating instrument and lower prevalence of dementia, and that this association would be robust when controlling for age, comorbidities, and other potential confounders. Our sample included 11,574 companion dogs enrolled through the Dog Aging Project, of whom 287 had scores over the clinical threshold for CCD. In this observational, cross-sectional study, we used owner-reported questionnaire data to quantify dog cognitive health (via a validated scale), physical activity levels, health conditions, training history, and dietary supplements. We fit regression models with measures of cognitive health as the outcome, and physical activity—with several important covariates—as predictors. We found a significant negative relationship between physical activity and current severity of cognitive dysfunction symptoms (estimate =  − 0.10, 95% CI: − 0.11 to − 0.08, p < 0.001), extent of symptom worsening over a 6-month interval (estimate =  − 0.07, 95% CI: − 0.09 to − 0.05, p < 0.001), and whether a dog reached a clinical level of CCD (odds ratio = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.45 to 0.63, p < 0.001). Physical activity was robustly associated with better cognitive outcomes in dogs. Our findings illustrate the value of companion dogs as a model for investigating relationships between physical activity and cognitive aging, including aspects of dementia that may have translational potential for Alzheimer’s disease. While the current study represents an important first step in identifying a relationship between physical activity and cognitive function, it cannot determine causality. Future studies are needed to rule out reverse causation by following the same dogs prospectively over time, and to evaluate causality by administering physical activity interventions.

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Data availability

These data are housed on the Terra platform at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

Code availability

This study did not use custom code or mathematical algorithms.

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Acknowledgements

The Dog Aging Project thanks study participants, their dogs, and community veterinarians for their important contributions.

Dog Aging Project consortium authors

Joshua M. Akey1, Brooke Benton2, Elhanan Borenstein3,4,5, Marta G. Castelhano6,7, Amanda E. Coleman8, Kate E. Creevy9, Kyle Crowder10,11, Matthew D. Dunbar11, Virginia R. Fajt12, Annette L. Fitzpatrick13,14,15, Unity Jeffrey16, Erica C. Jonlin2,17, Matt Kaeberlein2, Elinor K. Karlsson18,19, Kathleen F. Kerr20, Jonathan M. Levine9, Jing Ma21, Robyn L. McClelland20, Audrey Ruple22, Stephen M. Schwartz14,23, Sandi Shrager24, Noah Snyder-Mackler25,26,27, M. Katherine Tolbert9, Silvan R. Urfer2, Benjamin S. Wilfond.28.29

1Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.

2Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.

3Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.

4Blavatnik School of Computer Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.

5Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, USA.

6Cornell Veterinary Biobank, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.

7Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

8Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.

9Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, College Station, TX, USA.

10Department of Sociology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

11Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

12Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, College Station, TX, USA.

13Department of Family Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

14Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

15Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

16Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, College Station, TX, USA.

17Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

18Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.

19Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.

20Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

21Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA.

22Department of Population Health Sciences, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA.

23Epidemiology Program, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA.

24Department of Biostatistics, Collaborative Health Studies Coordinating Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

25School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.

26Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.

27School for Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.

28Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA.

29Department of Pediatrics, Divison of Bioethics and Palliative Care, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.

Funding

The Dog Aging Project is supported by U19AG057377 and R24AG073137 from the National Institute on Aging, a part of the National Institutes of Health, and by additional grants and private donations. The authors would also like to acknowledge support by the National Institute on Aging (P30AG019610, P30AG072980, R56AG067200, R01AG064587, R01AG072445, R01AG057330), the state of Arizona and Arizona Department of Health Services, and the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Gene E. Alexander and Evan L. MacLean contributed as senior authors

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Arizona Canine Cognition Center, School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Emily E. Bray & Evan L. MacLean

  2. Canine Companions for Independence, National Headquarters, Santa Rosa, CA, USA

    Emily E. Bray

  3. Human and Evolutionary Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    David A. Raichlen

  4. College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, M University, Texas A &, College Station, TX, USA

    Kiersten K. Forsyth

  5. Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA

    Daniel E. L. Promislow

  6. Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Daniel E. L. Promislow

  7. Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Gene E. Alexander & Evan L. MacLean

  8. Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Gene E. Alexander

  9. Arizona Alzheimer’s Consortium, Phoenix, AZ, USA

    Gene E. Alexander

  10. Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Gene E. Alexander

  11. Neuroscience Graduate Interdisciplinary Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Gene E. Alexander

  12. Physiological Sciences Graduate Interdisciplinary Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Gene E. Alexander

  13. Cognitive Science Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Evan L. MacLean

  14. College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Evan L. MacLean

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  1. Emily E. Bray
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Consortia

Dog Aging Project Consortium

  • Joshua M. Akey
  • , Brooke Benton
  • , Elhanan Borenstein
  • , Marta G. Castelhano
  • , Amanda E. Coleman
  • , Kate E. Creevy
  • , Kyle Crowder
  • , Matthew D. Dunbar
  • , Virginia R. Fajt
  • , Annette L. Fitzpatrick
  • , Unity Jeffrey
  • , Erica C. Jonlin
  • , Matt Kaeberlein
  • , Elinor K. Karlsson
  • , Kathleen F. Kerr
  • , Jonathan M. Levine
  • , Jing Ma
  • , Robyn L. McClelland
  • , Audrey Ruple
  • , Stephen M. Schwartz
  • , Sandi Shrager
  • , Noah Snyder-Mackler
  • , M. Katherine Tolbert
  • , Silvan R. Urfer
  •  & Benjamin S. Wilfond

Contributions

All authors contributed to writing—review and editing. E.B.: conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, data curation, writing—original draft, and supervision. D.R.: conceptualization and methodology. K.F.: data curation. D.P.: conceptualization, project administration, and funding acquisition. G.A.: conceptualization and methodology. E.M.: conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, writing—original draft, visualization, and supervision. DAP consortium: resources. G.A. and E.M. both contributed as senior authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Emily E. Bray.

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Bray, E.E., Raichlen, D.A., Forsyth, K.K. et al. Associations between physical activity and cognitive dysfunction in older companion dogs: results from the Dog Aging Project. GeroScience 45, 645–661 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-022-00655-8

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