Dogs and Humans Share Metabolic Biomarkers of Mortality, Dog Aging Project Study Finds

Researchers from the Dog Aging Project (搜索)搜索该词条 have found that the same biological signals used to predict human lifespan can also be detected in dogs, revealing shared metabolic patterns linked to earlier or later death across both species. The findings, published on 22 December 2025 in The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, suggest that dogs and humans share important features of aging biology and highlight the value of pet dogs as a model for studying long-term health and lifespan.

"The molecules that are risky for dogs or protective against a sooner death are very similar to those in people, showing that we share important features of aging biology, which is really interesting and rewarding," said Dr. Kate Creevy (搜索)搜索该词条, chief veterinary officer for the Dog Aging Project (搜索)搜索该词条 and a professor in the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (搜索)搜索该词条. "Our findings also highlight the value of pet dogs as a model for studying long-term health and lifespan."

A Metabolic 'Fingerprint' of Mortality

Metabolites are small chemicals and molecules produced as the body carries out normal biological processes. Because metabolites reveal activity inside cells, they can help researchers identify biological patterns connected to health outcomes. For this study, the team examined blood samples from dogs participating in the Dog Aging Project (搜索)搜索该词条, a community science project in which owners provide detailed survey responses and physical samples from their dogs throughout their lives.

The researchers searched those blood samples for metabolic patterns connected to lifespan, with a focus on whether dogs died sooner or later. "Death is an easy outcome to understand," Creevy said. "It is very easy to tell when a person or a dog has died, whereas other features of aging health are a bit more nuanced."

To identify those signals more clearly, researchers studied thousands of metabolites at the same time and looked for larger patterns that could help predict risk. "Some of my colleagues refer to it as a fingerprint," Creevy said. "We often look at a pattern or grouping that has a relationship with better or worse outcomes rather than just looking at a single molecule."

These measurable biological signs, known as biomarkers, can help researchers estimate future health outcomes by showing what is happening inside the body. Importantly, the researchers emphasized that these biomarkers do not necessarily cause an outcome. "When we find a biomarker associated with sooner or later mortality, we don't know that it's causing it," Creevy said. "But if we understand why that biomarker is present, we may be able to identify what the cause of the relationship is."

Shared Patterns Across Species

To determine whether similar metabolic signals appear in humans, the researchers compared their dog findings with five large published studies of human mortality that used comparable metabolite-based methods. Across all five studies, the patterns linked to earlier or later death were similar. That consistency across human studies was one of the most important results, supporting the idea that dogs and humans share key features of aging biology.

"Frequently, we know a little more about this in people than we do in dogs," Creevy said. "If we have the same targets, we'll be able to leverage human research to benefit dogs." This overlap means researchers can build on what is already known from human studies while using dogs to study how aging develops over time.

Why Dogs Are a Valuable Model

Dogs are especially valuable for aging research because they live closely with people and share many aspects of daily life, including environment, diet and activity. Those shared experiences can help scientists understand how lifestyle affects health over time. "One of the things we like most about learning from dogs as it pertains to aging is their widely varied lifestyles that mirror their owners' lifestyles in a way that's less true for other companion animals," Creevy said.

Dogs also age much faster than humans, which allows scientists to study lifespan and aging outcomes in less time. While people live into their 70s on average, dogs typically live only 12 to 13 years, giving researchers a shorter window in which to observe comparable aging patterns.

The study was made possible by the Dog Aging Project (搜索)搜索该词条, a nationwide study following pet dogs living with owners across the United States. "The owners who enroll their dogs make everything possible," Creevy said. "The dedication and commitment of these owners to participate in research and discovery to better the health of dogs is remarkable."

Creevy described the results as an important step toward understanding the biology of aging, moving the work from recognizing patterns toward investigating what may be causing them. "This is a starting point," she said. "We've identified these metabolites, and now we know where to start looking."

For dog owners, the practical message is straightforward: many of the same habits that support healthy aging in people are probably important for dogs as well. "Keeping them on a healthy diet, at a healthy body weight, and preserving mobility and cognitive health — just like we would do for ourselves," Creevy said. "What's good for us is probably good for them."