Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Using cholesterol lipoprotein profiles to confirm obesity in dogs
By Mori, Nobuko et al.·Published in Veterinary research communications·2011·Department of Veterinary Science, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Potential use of cholesterol lipoprotein profile to confirm obesity status in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that older dogs, especially those 8 years and older, can show changes in their cholesterol levels that may help determine if they are obese. While younger obese dogs didn't show these changes, older dogs had lower levels of certain healthy cholesterol types and higher levels of unhealthy ones. This means that checking cholesterol profiles could be useful for vets assessing obesity in older dogs. If your dog is overweight, especially if they are older, discussing cholesterol testing with your vet might be beneficial.
People also search for: dog obesity symptoms · cholesterol levels in older dogs · how to help my dog lose weight
Abstract
A common sign of obesity, in dogs, is hyperlipidemia, which is characterized by hypercholesterolemia and/or hypertriglycemia. Hyperlipidemia can be caused by a quantitative increase in circulating lipoproteins (LP) or by a higher lipid concentration in the various LP classes. In this study, we sought to determine whether aberrations occur with cholesterol lipoprotein profile, especially with sub HDL-cholesterol fraction % in obese dogs. Using clinically healthy and disease free (no overt signs) body condition score classified obese dogs, of all ages, we attempted to determine the influence of age, gender and obesity status on cholesterol lipoprotein profiling. Overall, no aberration in pattern was observed in obese dogs <8 years of age. However, in older obese animals (≥8 years of age), the general aberration pattern to cholesterol lipoprotein observed was that a significant decrease in HDL2 and 3 fraction % occurs with a concomitant increase in either HDL1-Cho or VLDL and LDL -Cho fraction % depending on gender. Linear regression analysis indicated that obesity status appears to significantly affect total cholesterol, HDL2 and 3-Cho, VLDL and LDL-Cho levels (P=0.02, 0.046, and 0.045, respectively), whereas it is borderline with HDL1-Cho (P=0.062). On the other hand, age significantly influenced TG, Total cholesterol, and HDL1-Cho levels (P=0.009, 0.006, and 0.002, respectively), while gender influenced VLDL and LDL-Cho (P=0.024) level. Therefore, aberrations in cholesterol lipoprotein profile pattern might be of potential use to assess and diagnose obesity status, in conjunction with BCS, especially of older overweight animals which might be considered borderline obese.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21327518/