Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Incidence of dilated heart disease in dogs and grain-free food sales
By Bradley W. Quest et al.·Published in Frontiers in Animal Science·2022·View original on Semantic Scholar →
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Original publication title: Incidence of Canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy Diagnosed at Referral Institutes and Grain-Free Pet Food Store Sales: A Retrospective Survey
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that there has been an increase in cases of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a serious heart condition, particularly in mixed breed dogs over the past 15 years. While the overall incidence of DCM in dogs at veterinary cardiology clinics was about 3.9%, there was no clear link between this increase and the sales of grain-free pet foods. This means that while some mixed breed dogs are being diagnosed more often with DCM, it doesn't seem to be directly related to their diet. More research is needed to understand the reasons behind these rising DCM cases in certain regions.
People also search for: dog heart disease symptoms · mixed breed dog DCM · grain-free diet and dog health
Abstract
Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is considered a predominantly inherited disease in dogs. Recent reports suggest an increased incidence of DCM in atypical breeds eating grain-free and/or legume-rich diets. Emerging communications have noted that there is an apparent increase in the DCM incidence rate in the United States (US). However, little data regarding the incidence of DCM are currently available. To address the gap in the literature, this project examines the DCM incidence rate, over time, by retrospective polling of veterinary cardiologists across the US. Further, grain-free brick-and-mortar pet food market share data from 2011 to 2019 were presented. Fourteen US hospitals, out of 88 that were contacted to participate, provided all cardiology canine cases and of those, which specifically were diagnosed as DCM cases, for as many years as were available (1–20 years, average 8.1 years). This included a total of 68,297 canine patients evaluated by a cardiologist. Of the hospitals that participated, three provided age and breed data. A Poisson regression analysis revealed a statistically significant positive trend in the Mixed Breed group (P = 0.025, RC = 0.082), indicating that this group of dogs had an increased trend of DCM diagnoses over the past 15 years. However, there was no correlation (P = 0.16) for the Mixed Breed group and grain-free pet food sales data. The average incidence rate of DCM, amongst referral cases seen in the participating hospitals, was 3.90% (range 2.53–5.65%), while grain-free diet sales increased from 2011 to 2019. Nationally, the data did not support a significant change in percent DCM over time, from 2000 to 2019. There was no significant correlation between the national DCM incidence rate or the individual breed groups (P>0.05) in relation to the grain-free pet food sales. However, additional studies are necessary to understand whether regional factors contribute to increased DCM incidence rates within smaller cohorts.
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Search related cases →Original publication on Semantic Scholar: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/f92ab4381ec7a2ce5aa4dbdadd8535595743eb1d