Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Abdominal fat linked to heart disease risk in dogs
By Thengchaisri, Naris et al.·Published in BMC veterinary research·2014·Department of Companion Animal Clinical Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Abdominal obesity is associated with heart disease in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that dogs with heart disease often have more abdominal fat compared to healthy dogs, even if their overall weight seems similar. Specifically, measurements of fat distribution showed that dogs with heart issues had higher values in certain ratios that indicate abdominal obesity. This suggests that focusing on where fat is located in a dog's body could help identify those at risk for heart disease. Monitoring these measurements could be beneficial for early detection and management of heart problems in dogs.
People also search for: dog heart disease symptoms · dog obesity treatment · how to measure dog abdominal fat
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The relationship between overall obesity and fat distribution in dogs and the development of heart disease is unclear. In the present study we evaluated the association between overall obesity and fat distribution and clinical heart disease by morphometric and computed tomography (CT)-based measurements. Body condition score (BCS), modified body mass index (MBMI, kg/m2), waist-to-hock-to-stifle distance ratio (WHSDR), waist-to-ilium wing distance ratio (WIWDR), and waist-to-truncal length ratio (WTLR) were compared between dogs with (n = 44) and without (n = 43) heart disease using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Intra-abdominal fat (IAF) and subcutaneous fat (SQF) were measured in dogs with (n = 8) and without (n = 9) heart disease at the center of the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae by CT. RESULTS: BCS was similar between heart disease and healthy groups (3.6 ± 0.2 vs. 3.3 ± 0.1, P = 0.126). The following morphometric measurements were greater in the heart disease group compared with healthy canines: MBMI (65.0 ± 4.5 vs. 52.5 ± 3.7 kg/m2, respectively, P = 0.035); WIWDR (4.1 ± 0.1 vs. 3.1 ± 0.1, P < 0.01); and WTLR (1.25 ± 0.04 vs. 1.05 ± 0.04, P < 0.01). However, there was no significant difference in WHSDR (3.6 ± 0.1 vs. 3.7 ± 0.2, P = 0.875). Interestingly, IAF was significantly increased in dogs with heart disease compared with healthy dogs (23.5 ± 1.5% vs. 19.4 ± 1.2%, P = 0.039) whereas SQF was similar between two groups (35.5 ± 2.7% vs. 38.6 ± 3.5%, P = 0.496). Of the five morphometric indices studied, WIWDR and WTLR provided acceptable discrimination for diagnosing heart disease in dogs, with areas under the ROC curve of 0.778 (95% confidence interval [CI]:0.683-0.874) and 0.727 (95% CI:0.619-0.835), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that abdominal obesity, rather than overall obesity, is associated with heart disease in dogs. Measurements of both WIWDR and WTLR are particular useful for detection of an abdominal obesity in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24923277/