MacQuiddy Brittany, Moreno Julie A, Kusick Breonna, McGrath Stephanie
Department of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States.
Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States.
Front Vet Sci. 2022 Oct 18;9:958488. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.958488. eCollection 2022.
The aim of this study was to investigate the potential risk factors involved in the development of presumptive advanced canine cognitive dysfunction (pACCD).
A questionnaire was developed to identify dogs with presumptive canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) based on an adapted Canine Dementia Scale and to evaluate for potential risk factors among the presumptive advanced cognitive dysfunction group. The questionnaire was distributed to 7,574 owners of dogs (≥8 years of age) who presented to the CSU VTH between 2017 and 2020. Dogs were classified into four groups based on the Canine Dementia Scale score (normal, mild, moderate, and severe cognitive impairment) and two subgroups for the cognitively impaired groups based on the presence or absence of underlying medical conditions. Comparisons between normal and presumptive advanced cognitively impaired groups, with and without underlying medical conditions, were made against various risk factors. Chi-square tests and logistic regression analysis were used to determine associations between categorical variables and a -value of <0.05 was considered indicative of evidence of association.
The completed response rate for the questionnaire was 14.2% (1,079/7,574). Among those, 231 dogs were classified as having presumptive advanced cognitive dysfunction. The prevalence of presumptive advanced cognitive dysfunction in the included age groups was 8.1% in ages 8 to <11 years, 18.8% in ages 11 to <13 years, 45.3% in ages 13 to <15 years, 67.3% in ages 15 to <17 years, and 80% in ages >17 years. Dogs with a thin body condition score had the largest contribution to the chi-square statistic. Based on the logistic regression model, both age ( < 0.001) and BCS ( = 0.0057) are associated with presumptive ACCD.
The chi-square test and logistic regression analysis both suggested an association between a thin body condition and an increased chance of cognitive decline. However, it is difficult to determine if the thin BCS in this group could be secondary to another confounding factor. The prevalence of cognitive dysfunction rapidly increased with age in this study. These findings warrant continued studies including veterinary evaluations to explore risk factors of canine dementia.
本研究旨在调查疑似晚期犬类认知功能障碍（pACCD）发生过程中涉及的潜在风险因素。
基于改良的犬类痴呆量表设计了一份问卷，用于识别疑似犬类认知功能障碍（CCD）的犬只，并评估疑似晚期认知功能障碍组中的潜在风险因素。该问卷分发给了2017年至2020年间前往科罗拉多州立大学兽医学院（CSU VTH）就诊的7574只8岁及以上犬只的主人。根据犬类痴呆量表评分（正常、轻度、中度和重度认知障碍）将犬只分为四组，并根据是否存在基础疾病将认知障碍组进一步分为两个亚组。对正常组与疑似晚期认知障碍组（有无基础疾病）的各种风险因素进行了比较。采用卡方检验和逻辑回归分析来确定分类变量之间的关联，P值<0.05被认为表明存在关联证据。
问卷的完整回复率为14.2%（1079/7574）。其中，231只犬被归类为患有疑似晚期认知功能障碍。在纳入的年龄组中，8至<11岁犬的疑似晚期认知功能障碍患病率为8.1%，11至<13岁为18.8%，13至<15岁为45.3%，15至<17岁为67.3%，>17岁为80%。身体状况评分低的犬只对卡方统计量的贡献最大。基于逻辑回归模型，年龄（P<0.001）和身体状况评分（BCS，P = 0.0057）均与疑似ACCD相关。
卡方检验和逻辑回归分析均表明身体状况瘦与认知能力下降几率增加之间存在关联。然而，很难确定该组中身体状况评分低是否可能继发于另一个混杂因素。在本研究中，认知功能障碍的患病率随年龄迅速增加。这些发现值得继续开展包括兽医评估在内的研究，以探索犬类痴呆的风险因素。
