O'Brien Janice S, Grzywinski Mia, Sexton Courtney L, Dunbar Matthew D, Ruple Audrey
Population Health Sciences Department, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.
Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
Am J Vet Res. 2025 Jun 30:1-10. doi: 10.2460/ajvr.25.04.0121.
To determine which environmental exposures, lifestyle variables, and prevalences of health conditions within the Dog Aging Project population differed by geographic region.
For this cross-sectional descriptive study, owner-reported environmental and lifestyle factors from 47,444 individuals enrolled in the Dog Aging Project cohort from January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2023, were examined across census regions, and 95% CIs were computed for each individual factor across the regions.
Analyses indicated high variation in the characteristics of dogs' environments across the US regions, including both inside and outside of the home. Certain types of diseases disproportionately affect dogs in some regions: infectious diseases were most prevalent in the Northeast (49%; 95% CI, 48% to 50%), dental disease was highest in the West (46%; 95% CI, 45% to 47%), and skin conditions were most prevalent in the South (45%; 95% CI, 44% to 45%). Dog activity levels did not vary significantly across regions.
There are regional differences in lifestyle and environmental exposures experienced by companion dogs across the US, such as pesticides and weed treatments applied to yards, swimming water sources, and home heat sources, whereas other exposures do not differ across regions. The prevalence of some health conditions, like infectious/parasitic diseases, dental disease, and skin conditions, varied by regions, whereas others, like cancer, neurologic, and gastrointestinal diseases, showed no regional variation. These findings inform future hypothesis-driven studies of environmental health risks of dogs, which are relevant to translational research.
There are regional variations in exposures that may contribute to differences in the prevalence of health conditions found in companion dog populations.
确定犬类衰老项目人群中哪些环境暴露因素、生活方式变量和健康状况患病率因地理区域而异。
在这项横断面描述性研究中，对2020年1月1日至2023年12月31日纳入犬类衰老项目队列的47444只犬的主人报告的环境和生活方式因素进行了跨普查区域的检查，并计算了各区域每个个体因素的95%置信区间。
分析表明，美国各地区犬类环境特征存在很大差异，包括家庭内外环境。某些类型的疾病在某些地区对犬类的影响尤为严重：传染病在东北部最为普遍（49%；95%置信区间，48%至50%），牙科疾病在西部最高（46%；95%置信区间，45%至47%），皮肤疾病在南部最为普遍（45%；95%置信区间，44%至45%）。犬类的活动水平在各地区之间没有显著差异。
美国伴侣犬所经历的生活方式和环境暴露存在区域差异，例如应用于院子的杀虫剂和杂草处理、游泳水源和家庭热源，而其他暴露因素在各地区之间没有差异。一些健康状况的患病率，如传染病/寄生虫病、牙科疾病和皮肤疾病，因地区而异，而其他疾病，如癌症、神经系统疾病和胃肠道疾病，则没有区域差异。这些发现为未来关于犬类环境健康风险的假设驱动研究提供了信息，这与转化研究相关。
暴露因素存在区域差异，这可能导致伴侣犬群体中发现的健康状况患病率存在差异。
