Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Thyroid hormone changes in sled dogs before and after racing
By Lee, Justine A et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2004·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Effects of racing and nontraining on plasma thyroid hormone concentrations in sled dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 122 sled dogs had their thyroid hormone levels checked before and after competing in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Many of these dogs showed lower than normal levels of thyroid hormones, particularly right after the race, with 92% having low T4 levels immediately following the event. Even three months later, a quarter of the dogs still had low T4 levels. This study suggests that sled dogs may naturally have different thyroid hormone levels compared to other breeds, and their reference ranges should be adjusted accordingly.
People also search for: sled dog thyroid hormone levels · low T4 in dogs · Iditarod sled dog health · thyroid problems in racing dogs
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of racing and nontraining on plasma thyroxine (T4), free thyroxine (fT4), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and thyroglobulin autoantibody (TgAA) concentrations in sled dogs and compare results with reference ranges established for dogs of other breeds. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. ANIMALS: 122 sled dogs. PROCEDURE: Plasma thyroid hormone concentrations were measured before dogs began and after they finished or were removed from the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska and approximately 3 months after the race. RESULTS: Concentrations of T4 and fT4 before the race were less than the reference range for nonsled dogs in 26% and 18% of sled dogs, respectively. Immediately after racing, 92% of sled dogs had plasma T4 concentrations less than the reference range. Three months after the race, 25% of sled dogs had plasma T4 concentrations less than the reference range. For T4, fT4, TSH, and TgAA, significant differences were not detected in samples collected before the race versus 3 months later. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Plasma T4, fT4, and TSH concentrations decreased in dogs that complete a long distance sled dog race. Many clinically normal sled dogs have plasma T4 and fT4 values that are lower than the reference range for nonsled dogs. We suggest that the reference ranges for sled dogs are 5.3 to 40.3 nmol/L and 3.0 to 24.0 pmol/L for plasmaT4 and fT4 concentrations, respectively, and 8.0 to 370 mU/L for TSH.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14736066/