Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Repeated thyroid tests in 8,309 dogs show stable results over time
By Oberbauer, Anita M et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2025·Department of Animal Science, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Repeated thyroid function evaluations in the dog: a retrospective study of 8,309 dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at thyroid function in over 8,300 dogs to see how their thyroid health changed over time. Most dogs that were initially found to have normal thyroid function continued to be normal in follow-up tests. However, dogs that were initially classified as having uncertain thyroid function sometimes had their diagnosis changed to normal after further evaluation. This suggests that if a dog shows low levels of thyroid autoantibodies, it might be worth having them checked again later to see if they develop autoimmune thyroiditis (a condition where the immune system attacks the thyroid).
People also search for: dog thyroid problems · hypothyroidism in dogs · dog thyroid function test · autoimmune thyroiditis in dogs · dog thyroid treatment options
Abstract
Hypothyroidism in dogs is a common diagnosis with some breeds being more prone to the condition. Autoimmune thyroiditis has an inherited component. Breeders wish to reduce the incidence by any means possible. Currently, the only opportunity lies in phenotypic testing of thyroid functionality. This retrospective study evaluated thyroid hormone and thyroglobulin autoantibodies (TgAA) analyses in dogs assessed multiple times to determine if the outcome changed over time. Data were extracted from the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) database for 8,309 dogs which had been evaluated two or more times and the initial classification was compared to a final classification. More than 90% of dogs evaluated as normal for thyroid function remained normal in follow-up assessments. The greatest change was seen for dogs initially evaluated as equivocal; this was followed by a compensative autoimmune thyroiditis diagnosis being revised to normal, though 50% of the latter evaluation remained classified as compensative autoimmune thyroiditis. This suggests the presence of low levels of autoantibodies may be transient and that a dog presenting with autoantibodies should be reevaluated to confirm the development of autoimmune thyroiditis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41030683/