Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Higher leptin and insulin levels found in dogs with hypothyroidism
By Mazaki-Tovi, Michal et al.·Published in Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)·2010·Koret School of Veterinary Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Increased serum leptin and insulin concentrations in canine hypothyroidism.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with hypothyroidism had higher levels of leptin and insulin in their blood compared to healthy dogs of similar age and weight. This suggests that hypothyroidism can affect these hormone levels, which may not be solely due to being overweight. The study found that even when controlling for body condition, the hypothyroid dogs showed significantly elevated leptin levels. If your dog is diagnosed with hypothyroidism, it’s important to monitor these hormone levels as part of their overall health management.
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Abstract
Serum concentrations of leptin and insulin were compared between gender-matched hypothyroid (n=25) and healthy (n=25) client-owned dogs within comparable age and body condition score (BCS) ranges. Fasted blood samples were collected from each dog and analysed for glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, leptin and insulin concentrations. Leptin and insulin concentrations were significantly higher in the hypothyroid compared to normal dogs (P=0.006 and P=0.001, respectively) following adjustment for potential confounders. A nearly significant (P=0.051) interaction with BCS was found in the association between hypothyroidism and leptin. Leptin concentrations were significantly higher in hypothyroid dogs compared to normal dogs, in separate analyses for BCS 6 (P=0.036) and 7 (P=0.049). There was no significant difference in glucose concentration between the hypothyroid and normal groups (P=0.84) following adjustment for BCS. This study showed that canine hypothyroidism is associated with increased serum leptin and insulin concentrations, neither of which may be attributed to obesity alone.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18835199/