Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Vitamin D Levels Linked to Outcomes in Dogs with Chronic Gut Disease
By Titmarsh, H et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2015·Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and The Roslin Institute, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Association of Vitamin D Status and Clinical Outcome in Dogs with a Chronic Enteropathy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 41 dogs diagnosed with chronic enteropathy (a long-term digestive issue) had their vitamin D levels checked to see how it affected their health outcomes. The results showed that dogs who did not survive had much lower vitamin D levels compared to those who did survive. Specifically, the dogs that passed away had an average vitamin D level of just 4.36 ng/mL, while the survivors had an average of 24.9 ng/mL. This suggests that higher vitamin D levels at diagnosis may be linked to better survival rates in dogs with chronic enteropathy.
People also search for: dog chronic enteropathy treatment · vitamin D for dogs with digestive issues · why is my dog not eating and losing weight
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Dogs with a chronic enteropathy (CE) have a lower vitamin D status, than do healthy dogs. Vitamin D status has been associated with a negative clinical outcome in humans with inflammatory bowel disease. OBJECTIVES: To examine the relationship between serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations at diagnosis and clinical outcome in dogs with a CE. ANIMALS: Forty-one dogs diagnosed with CE admitted to the Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies, Hospital for Small Animals between 2007 and 2013. METHODS: Retrospective review. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations were compared between dogs which were alive at follow up or had died because of non-CE-related reasons (survivors) and dogs which died or were euthanized due to their CE (non-survivors). A binary logistic regression analysis was performed to determine significant predictors of death in dogs with CE. RESULTS: Serum concentrations of 25(OH)D at the time a CE was diagnosed were significantly lower in nonsurvivors (n = 15) (median nonsurvivors 4.36 ng/mL, interquartile range 1.6-17.0 ng/mL), median survivors (n = 26) (24.9 ng/mL interquartile range 15.63-39.45 ng/mL, P < .001). Serum 25(OH)D concentration was a significant predictor of death in dogs with CE (odds ratio 1.08 [95% CI 1.02-1.18)]). CONCLUSIONS: Serum 25(OH)D concentrations at diagnosis are predictive of outcome in dogs with CE. The role of vitamin D in the initiation and outcome of chronic enteropathies in dogs is deserving of further study.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26308876/