Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Lab results and traits of diabetic cats in Germany studied
By Guse, Bente et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2024·Clinic for Small Animals (Internal Medicine, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Signalment and laboratory findings in cats with diabetes mellitus in Germany: a retrospective review of laboratory submissions of 129,505 cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study looked at 9,334 cats diagnosed with diabetes in Germany, finding that many had higher cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose levels compared to well-controlled diabetic cats. The average age of these diabetic cats was 12 years, and the research showed that poorly-controlled diabetic cats had significant differences in their lab results compared to those with better control of their diabetes. The findings suggest that while diabetic cats may have some mild lab changes, the main issues are related to fat levels in the blood. If your cat is diabetic, regular check-ups and monitoring of their blood work can help manage their condition effectively.
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Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to compare signalment and laboratory parameters between diabetic (D) and non-diabetic (ND) cats and poorly-controlled diabetic (PD) and well-controlled diabetic (WD) cats in Germany. METHODS: Laboratory data from Antech Lab Germany between 2015 and 2018 were retrospectively analysed. Age, sex, red blood cell count (RBC), creatinine (CREA), alkaline phosphatase (AP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), bilirubin (BILI), cholesterol (CHOL), triglycerides (TRI), glucose (GLU) and total thyroxine (TT4) were compared between D (fructosamine ⩾340 µmol/l) and ND cats, and PD (fructosamine >500 µmol/l) and WD (fructosamine 340-500 µmol/l) cats. The proportion of cats with anaemia (RBC ⩽4.21 ×10/l), CREA >250 µmol/l, ALT >455 U/l, AP >315 U/l, BILI ⩾35 µmol/l and TT4 > reference interval (RI) was compared between PD and WD cats. Data are presented as median and interquartile range (IQR) and analysed using non-parametric tests. Significance was<0.05, and effect size was assessed by Cramér V or r. RESULTS: In total, 129,505 cats were included (D: n = 9334 [prevalence 7.2%], WD: n = 5670/9334 [60.7%]). The median age of D and ND cats was 12 years (IQR D 9-14; ND 9-15); there was no difference in sex. A significant difference was found between groups (D vs ND; PD vs WD) for all parameters studied. Considering the effect sizes and medians outside the RI, the only relevant difference was higher CHOL, TRI, AP and GLU in PD compared with WD (CHOL: PD 7.46 [5.85-9.32] vs WD 5.44 [4.32-6.97] mmol/l,<0.001, r = 0.39; TRI: PD 1.44 [0.84-3.66] vs WD 0.78 [0.5-1.35] mmol/l,<0.001, r = 0.35; AP: PD 66 [47-92] vs WD 35 [23-59] U/l,<0.001, r = 0.39; GLU: PD 23.7 [20.15-27.3] vs WD 6.89 [5-11.31] mmol/l, <0.001, r = 0.69). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Laboratory changes in diabetic cats were mild and mainly associated with lipid derangements.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39286966/