Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Diet-related risk factors for gastric dilatation-volvulus in dogs of high-risk breeds.
- Journal:
- Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association
- Year:
- 2004
- Authors:
- Raghavan, Malathi et al.
- Affiliation:
- Purdue University · United States
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at 1,634 dogs over five years to find out if their diets could increase the risk of a serious condition called gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV), which is when the stomach twists and can be life-threatening. Out of these dogs, 106 developed GDV, while 212 did not and were used for comparison. The researchers found that dogs that ate a larger amount of food in one meal were at a higher risk of developing GDV, especially if they were large or giant breeds. This risk was particularly significant for dogs that were fed just once a day. Overall, the study suggests that feeding large amounts of food in one meal can increase the risk of GDV in certain breeds.
Abstract
A nested case-control study was conducted among 1634 dogs with complete diet information in a 5-year prospective study to determine diet-related risk factors for gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV). Cases included 106 dogs that developed GDV; controls included 212 dogs without GDV that were frequency matched to cases by year of GDV onset. Proportionate energy consumed from major food types and from carbohydrates was determined. Dogs were categorized as consuming either a low volume or high volume of food based on the median number of cups of food fed per kg of body weight per meal. Dogs fed a larger volume of food per meal were at a significantly (P<0.05) increased risk of GDV, regardless of the number of meals fed daily. For both large- and giant-breed dogs, the risk of GDV was highest for dogs fed a larger volume of food once daily.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15131099/