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Abstract

OBJECTIVE

Use 18 years of dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan data to characterize how body composition changes with age in dogs and cats.

METHODS

This was a retrospective observational study using data obtained from DEXA scans performed between 2006 and 2023. A total of 6,973 observations from 1,273 colony-housed dogs ≤ 1 to 16.1 years old and 6,593 observations from 1,096 colony-housed cats ≤ 1 to 16.9 years old were obtained. Animal ages were rounded to the nearest 1/10-year intervals. Means for each interval were calculated and quadratic, cubic, and quartic polynomial models were fit to assess trends over age.

RESULTS

Age had an effect on all DEXA measurements. In dogs, lean mass increased early in life before slowing to a peak at age 6.3 and then declined gradually. Fat mass also increased until slowing to a peak at age 9.3 and then decreased. In cats, lean mass increased before slowing to a peak at age 4.5, decreased gradually until age 12.5, and then sharply declined. Fat mass increased until slowing to a peak at age 7.5 and then decreased gradually.

CONCLUSIONS

This retrospective study provides a baseline for how body composition changes with age. Results suggest that lean mass loss may begin earlier than previously reported in dogs and cats.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Sarcopenia and obesity are common conditions in aging pets. Results can be used to improve body composition assessment of patients and investigate the efficacy of nutritional interventions.

Open access
in American Journal of Veterinary Research

Abstract

Objective—To evaluate the effect of nutrition on recurrent clinical signs of lower urinary tract (LUT) disease in cats with idiopathic cystitis.

Design—Randomized, controlled, masked clinical trial.

Animals—31 cats with acute nonobstructive idiopathic cystitis.

Procedures—Cats were assigned to receive 1 of 2 foods (a cystitis prevention or control food) that differed in mineral (calcium, phosphorous, and magnesium), antioxidant, and fatty acid profiles. Owners documented LUT signs daily for up to 1 year. The primary endpoint was the number of recurrent episodes in which a cat had multiple (≥ 2 concurrent) LUT signs within a day (defined as multiple-sign day). Consecutive days in which a cat had multiple LUT signs were considered as a single episode.

Results—4 cats fed prevention food and 2 cats fed control food were excluded from analysis because of noncompliance, gastrointestinal signs, food refusal, or owner voluntary withdrawal. The proportion of cats fed prevention food that had ≥ 1 recurrent episode of multiple-sign days (4/11) was not significantly lower than that of cats fed control food (9/14). However, cats fed prevention food had significantly lower mean incidence rates for recurrent episodes of multiple-sign days (0.7 episodes/1,000 cat-days) and episodes of hematuria (0.3 episodes/1,000 cat-days), dysuria (0.2 episodes/1,000 cat-days), and stranguria (0.2 episodes/1,000 cat-days) as single LUT signs, compared with cats fed control food (5.4, 3.4, 3.1, and 3.8 episodes/1,000 cat-days, respectively). Significantly fewer cats fed prevention food required analgesics (4/11), compared with cats fed control food (12/14).

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Foods with differing nutritional profiles appeared to impact mean incidence rates of recurrent feline idiopathic cystitis-associated signs.

Full access
in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

Abstract

Objective—To determine the effects of feeding a diet supplemented with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids on carprofen dosage in dogs with osteoarthritis.

Design—Randomized, controlled, multisite clinical trial.

Animals—131 client-owned dogs with stable chronic osteoarthritis examined at 33 privately owned veterinary hospitals in the United States.

Procedures—In all dogs, the dosage of carprofen was standardized over a 3-week period to approximately 4.4 mg/kg/d (2 mg/lb/d), PO. Dogs were then randomly assigned to receive a food supplemented with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids or a control food with low omega-3 fatty acid content, and 3, 6, 9, and 12 weeks later, investigators made decisions regarding increasing or decreasing the carprofen dosage on the basis of investigator assessments of 5 clinical signs and owner assessments of 15 signs.

Results—Linear regression analysis indicated that over the 12-week study period, carprofen dosage decreased significantly faster among dogs fed the supplemented diet than among dogs fed the control diet. The distribution of changes in carprofen dosage for dogs in the control group was significantly different from the distribution of changes in carprofen dosage for dogs in the test group.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results suggested that in dogs with chronic osteoarthritis receiving carprofen because of signs of pain, feeding a diet supplemented with fish oil omega-3 fatty acids may allow for a reduction in carprofen dosage.

Full access
in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

Abstract

OBJECTIVE

To examine the effects of age, sex, breed, liver histopathology, and year of death/sample collection on liver copper concentrations in dogs fed various commercial dog foods throughout their lives.

SAMPLE

During necropsy, 336 samples were collected between the years 2006 and 2022 from dogs that were fed a variety of commercial dog foods on the market. This study utilized all liver samples available and did not require specific criteria for sample selection.

METHODS

Liver samples (n = 336) were analyzed as dry weight for copper concentration by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. The potential effects of animal age and year of death/collection (scatterplots and linear regression), sex, liver histopathology (t test), and breed (ANOVA) on liver copper concentration were assessed.

RESULTS

Labrador Retrievers had lower liver copper concentrations than Beagles, but mixed breeds did not differ from Beagles or Labrador Retrievers. Analysis of year of death showed that liver copper concentrations decreased from 2006 through 2011, increased in 2012, decreased in 2013, and peaked in 2016, decreasing thereafter. Mean copper concentration of abnormal liver histopathology samples was lower than mean copper concentrations of normal liver histopathology samples. Age (12.9 ± 2.6 years) and sex had no effect on liver copper concentrations. Of note, some samples showed abnormal hepatic pathology.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Liver copper concentrations varied significantly with breed and year of death; however, average liver copper concentrations of each year were within normal. However, this was a retrospective population study and diet histories of the dogs were unknown, requiring further investigation.

Open access
in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

Abstract

Objective—To develop morphometric equations for prediction of body composition and create a body fat index (BFI) system to estimate body fat percentage in overweight and obese cats.

Design—Prospective evaluation study.

Animals—76 overweight or obese cats ≥ 1 year of age.

Procedures—Body condition score (BCS) was determined with a 5-point scale, morphometric measurements were made, and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) was performed. Visual and palpation-based evaluation of various body regions was conducted, and results were used for development of the BFI system. Best-fit multiple regression models were used to develop equations for predicting lean body mass and fat mass from morphometric measurements. Predicted values for body composition components were compared with DEXA results.

Results—For the study population, prediction equations accounted for 85% of the variation in lean body mass and 98% of the variation in fat mass. Values derived from morphometric equations for fat mass and lean mass were within 10% of DEXA values for 55 of 76 (72%) and 66 of 76 (87%) cats, respectively. Body fat as a percentage of total body weight (ie, body fat percentage) predicted with the BCS and BFI was within 10% of the DEXA value for 5 of 39 (13%) and 22 of 39 (56%) cats, respectively.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—The BFI system and morphometric equations were considered accurate for estimation of body composition components in overweight and obese cats of the study population and appeared to be more useful than BCS for evaluation of these patients. Further research is needed to validate the use of these methods in other feline populations. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2014;244:1285–1290)

Full access
in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

Abstract

Objective—To develop morphometric equations for prediction of body composition and create a body fat index (BFI) to estimate body fat percentage in overweight and obese dogs.

Design—Prospective evaluation study.

Animals—83 overweight or obese dogs ≥ 1 year of age.

Procedures—Body condition score (BCS) was assessed on a 5-point scale, morphometric measurements were made, and visual and palpation-based assessments and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) were performed. Equations for predicting lean body mass, fat mass, and body fat as a percentage of total body weight (ie, body fat percentage) on the basis of morphometric measurements were generated with best-fit statistical models. Visual and palpation-based descriptors were used to develop a BFI. Predicted values for body composition components were compared with DEXA-measured values.

Results—For the study population, the developed morphometric equations accounted for 98% of the variation in lean body mass and fat mass and 82% of the variation in body fat percentage. The proportion of dogs with predicted values within 10% of the DEXA values was 66 of 83 (80%) for lean body mass, 56 of 83 (68%) for fat mass, and 56 of 83 (67%) for body fat percentage. The BFI accurately predicted body fat percentage in 25 of 47 (53%) dogs, whereas the value predicted with BCS was accurate in 6 of 47 (13%) dogs.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Morphometric measurements and the BFI appeared to be more accurate than the 5-point BCS method for estimation of body fat percentage in overweight and obese dogs. Further research is needed to assess the applicability of these findings to other populations of dogs. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2014;244:1279–1284)

Full access
in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association