Scientists examine effects of poor air quality and wildfire smoke on dog health
Researchers at Colorado State University are launching a project to examine the long-term impacts of poor air quality — including wildfire smoke — on golden retrievers nationwide. The study could also reveal new insights into an area of public health that is not well understood: How repeated exposure to air pollution affects people over longer periods.
“Our beloved dogs share our world, including exposure to air pollution and wildfire smoke,” said Sheryl Magzamen, professor in CSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, who is one of the leaders of the study. “Sadly, they have a shorter lifespan than we do, but that is also an opportunity to look at the effects of this exposure.”
The work will run more than two years and will rely on two sizeable, pre-existing datasets — the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study run by the Denver-based Morris Animal Foundation and historical air-quality data compiled by CSU’s Department of Atmospheric Science.
The Golden Retriever Lifetime Study is one of the most comprehensive canine health studies in the country. It was designed to follow dogs throughout their lives and to identify risk factors – genetic, environmental, lifestyle, nutritional – that could lead to cancer and other diseases. The study has maintained detailed health records on more than 3,000 goldens across the country for the past 13 years.
Data from CSU’s Department of Atmospheric Sciences includes information on the harmful fine particulate matter — known as PM2.5 — that is spread into the air during wildfires. Wildfires have increased in frequency and intensity in recent years, and research has shown that PM2.5 is harmful to humans. Little is known, however, about the effect of PM2.5 on dogs.
Magzamen and team, including Dr. Craig Webb in the Department of Clinical Sciences, Dr. Colleen Duncan, a professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, and preventative medicine resident veterinarian Dr. Danni Scott, will cross reference the two datasets to investigate the effect smoke exposure has on canine health. They will examine what happens after big smoke events as well as what happens after repeated exposure.
“We want to understand the big picture outcomes: Were the dogs’ lives shortened, and did they tend to develop diseases, such as cancer and heart disease, given increases in exposure to smoke?” Magzamen said. “Our work could help inform recommendations for dog owners, and maybe have further-reaching impact on other pets, livestock and even wildlife.”
The work could also inform how repeated exposure to poor air quality may impact humans over longer periods — something that is more difficult to research because it can be challenging to keep people engaged in long-term studies.
Dogs are a useful model for understanding human health, not only because they are exposed to the same environmental factors and live shorter lives than people, but also because they naturally develop the same diseases. Cancer is an important example and is the basis of critical research at CSU, notably at the Flint Animal Cancer Center. The field encompassing such research is called translational medicine because findings often translate from one species to the other – animals to humans and vice versa.
“Not only can we learn about how to keep our companion animals safe and healthy,” Magzamen said, “but are there things that we can learn about us – about keeping us safe and healthy – knowing that we’re just going to have more and more wildfires in the future?”
The study is being funded by a grant from the Morris Animal Foundation.
Authors: CSU MarComm Staff
Source: https://cvmbs.source.colostate.edu/
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