Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How obesity and sex affect insulin resistance in neutered cats
By Bjornvad, C R et al.·Published in Domestic animal endocrinology·2014·Department of Veterinary Clinical and Animal Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Obesity and sex influence insulin resistance and total and multimer adiponectin levels in adult neutered domestic shorthair client-owned cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study found that overweight and obese neutered male domestic shorthair cats had lower insulin sensitivity and total adiponectin levels compared to female cats. This means that male cats might be at a higher risk for diabetes due to their weight and hormonal differences. The researchers measured body fat and glucose tolerance in 72 cats and discovered that as body fat increased, the ability to manage glucose decreased. Keeping your cat at a healthy weight could help reduce the risk of diabetes and improve overall health.
People also search for: cat obesity diabetes risk · neutered male cat weight management · insulin resistance in cats
Abstract
In this study, we estimated insulin sensitivity and determined plasma concentrations of total-, low-molecular-weight (LMW), and high-molecular-weight (HMW) adiponectin and leptin in 72 domestic shorthair, neutered, client-owned cats. Glucose tolerance was assessed with an intravenous glucose tolerance test and body fat percentage (BF%) was measured with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Total adiponectin was measured with 2 different ELISAs. Low-molecular-weight and HMW adiponectin plasma concentrations were determined by Western blot analysis after sucrose-gradient velocity centrifugation, and the adiponectin multimer ratio [SA = HMW/(HMW + LMW)] was calculated. Differences in glucose tolerance, leptin, total adiponectin, and multimer ratio among lean (BF% <35; n = 26), overweight (35 <BF% <45; n = 28), and obese (BF% >45; n = 18) cats as well as between male (n = 34) and female (n = 38) neutered cats were evaluated by linear regression and 2-way ANOVA. Sex and age were included as covariates for analysis of BF%, whereas BF%, fat mass, and lean body mass were covariates for analysis of sex differences. Increased BF% was negatively correlated with multimer ratio (SA, r = -45; P < 0.002), whereas no differences were found in total adiponectin concentrations among BF% groups (P > 0.01). Male cats had indices of decreased insulin tolerance and significantly lower total adiponectin concentrations than did female cats (mean ± SEM, 3.7 ± 0.4 vs 5.4 ± 0.5 μg/mL; P < 0.02). Altered SAs could contribute to an obesity-associated decreasing glucose tolerance in cats, and low total adiponectin concentrations may relate to increased risk of diabetes mellitus in neutered male cats.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24373250/