Pugh Carys A, Bronsvoort Barend M de C, Handel Ian G, Summers Kim M, Clements Dylan N
The Roslin Institute and The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, EH25 9RG UK.
Canine Genet Epidemiol. 2014 May 15;1:5. doi: 10.1186/2052-6687-1-5. eCollection 2014.
This paper addresses the use of cohort studies in canine medicine to date and highlights the benefits of wider use of such studies in the future. Uniquely amongst observational studies, cohort studies offer the investigator an opportunity to assess the temporal relationship between hypothesised risk factors and diseases. In human medicine cohort studies were initially used to investigate specific exposures but there has been a movement in recent years to more broadly assess the impact of complex lifestyles on morbidity and mortality. Such studies do not focus on narrow prior hypotheses but rather generate new theories about the impact of environmental and genetic risk factors on disease. Unfortunately cohort studies are expensive both in terms of initial investment and on-going costs. There is inevitably a delay between set up and the reporting of meaningful results. Expense and time constraints are likely why this study design has been used sparingly in the field of canine health studies. Despite their rather limited numbers, canine cohort studies have made a valuable contribution to the understanding of dog health, in areas such as the dynamics of infectious disease. Individual exposures such as neutering and dietary restriction have also been directly investigated. More recently, following the trend in human health, large cohort studies have been set up to assess the wider impact of dog lifestyle on their health. Such studies have the potential to develop and test hypotheses and stimulate new theories regarding the maintenance of life-long health in canine populations.
本文阐述了迄今为止队列研究在犬医学中的应用，并强调了未来更广泛应用此类研究的益处。在观察性研究中，队列研究独具特色，它为研究者提供了一个机会，用以评估假设的风险因素与疾病之间的时间关系。在人类医学中，队列研究最初用于调查特定暴露情况，但近年来出现了一种趋势，即更广泛地评估复杂生活方式对发病率和死亡率的影响。此类研究并不专注于狭隘的先验假设，而是生成有关环境和遗传风险因素对疾病影响的新理论。不幸的是，队列研究在初始投资和持续成本方面都很昂贵。从设立到报告有意义的结果之间不可避免地会有延迟。费用和时间限制可能就是这种研究设计在犬类健康研究领域使用较少的原因。尽管犬类队列研究数量相当有限，但它们在诸如传染病动态等领域，对理解犬类健康做出了宝贵贡献。诸如绝育和饮食限制等个体暴露情况也得到了直接研究。最近，随着人类健康领域的趋势，已经开展了大型队列研究，以评估犬类生活方式对其健康的更广泛影响。此类研究有潜力发展和检验假设，并激发有关维持犬类群体终身健康的新理论。
