Background: In elderly people, especially those with dementia, risk of urinary tract infections (UTI) and bacteriuria is high. Additionally, urine specific gravity (USG) decreases with age. The prevalence of urinalysis (UA) abnormalities and their relationship with cognitive decline has not been described in aging dogs. Hypothesis/
Objectives: Cognitive decline in aging dogs is associated with UA abnormalities. Animals: 83 client-owned dogs, aged 8 to 18 years enrolled in the Longitudinal Study of Neuroaging underwent biannual assessments.
Methods: Owner responses from the house soiling domain of Canine Dementia Scale: CADES were recorded. UA abnormalities were documented: pyuria (>5wbc/hpf); hematuria (>5rbc/hpf); bacteriuria (> trace). In-house cognitive testing included inhibitory control and detour. The relationship between UA findings, age, sex, CADES soiling score, and cognitive test results was examined with mixed effect models.
Results: Of 216 urinalyses in 83 dogs, 33 had pyuria (15), bacteriuria (15), or hematuria (14). Age was associated with a significant decrease in USG (p < 0.0001) and correlated with CADES soiling score (p < 0.0001). Pyuria was associated with higher CADES soiling score (p=0.0225). Dogs with higher CADES soiling scores showed lower inhibitory control (p=0.0010) and performed worse in detour (p=0.0203). UA abnormalities were not associated with cognitive test performance. Conclusions and Clinical Significance: Aging in dogs is associated with decreased urine specific gravity. House soiling, as described by the owners on the CADES questionnaire, was associated with both urinary tract health (pyuria) and cognition, highlighting the importance of a complete diagnostic workup when owners report house soiling.
