Pye Christine R, Dowgray Nathalie J, Eyre Kelly, Pinchbeck Gina, Biourge Vincent, Moniot Delphine, Comerford Eithne, German Alexander J
Department of Musculoskeletal Biology and Ageing Science, Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Department of Livestock and One Health, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Studies, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Front Vet Sci. 2025 Aug 25;12:1654002. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1654002. eCollection 2025.
Body composition metrics such as bodyweight, body condition score (BCS) and muscle condition score (MCS) can be readily recorded as part of veterinary examinations in ageing cats. However, the description of how these parameters change with age, whilst accounting for sex and age-related morbidity, is limited. The aim of this prospective cohort study was to evaluate age, sex and health-related changes in bodyweight, BCS and MCS in client-owned pet cats. A total of 1,231 veterinary examinations were performed on 209 pet cats aged 6.7-16.4 years enrolled on the Cat Prospective Ageing and Welfare Study. Cats were followed every 6 months for up to 7 years. Mixed-effects models using natural cubic splines were applied to investigate non-linear age-related changes, adjusting for sex and disease status. All three metrics showed significant non-linear associations with age. Bodyweight increased slightly from age 7 to 10 (estimated marginal mean 4.77-4.82 kg) before decreasing to 4.30 kg by age 16 years. Body condition score also increased slightly during middle age, before declining after age 10.5 years. The combined MCS (maximum 30 points, based on 10 skeletal landmarks) decreased gradually from 30 points to 28 points between ages 7 and 10, before decreasing at a greater rate to 15 points by age 16. After age 10, the cats had a greater probability of mild muscle loss than no muscle loss, and by age 14, they were more likely to be underweight than obese. Male cats were heavier and had 2.8 times greater odds of being overweight ( = 0.002); there were no sex differences in MCS. Cats that developed chronic disease had a greater age-related decline in all three metrics. Associations with various chronic diseases were identified, including a positive association between orthopaedic abnormalities and bodyweight. These findings indicate that muscle loss begins before middle age in cats, whilst loss of body condition and bodyweight begins after age 10. The results also outline the importance of monitoring body composition metrics in veterinary examinations of ageing cats.
诸如体重、体况评分（BCS）和肌肉状况评分（MCS）等身体成分指标，在老龄猫的兽医检查中很容易被记录下来。然而，关于这些参数如何随年龄变化，同时考虑性别和与年龄相关的发病率的描述却很有限。这项前瞻性队列研究的目的是评估客户拥有的宠物猫的体重、BCS和MCS在年龄、性别和健康方面的变化。对参加“猫前瞻性衰老与福利研究”的209只年龄在6.7至16.4岁的宠物猫进行了总共1231次兽医检查。对猫每6个月进行一次跟踪，长达7年。使用自然三次样条的混合效应模型用于研究与年龄相关的非线性变化，并对性别和疾病状态进行调整。所有三个指标都显示出与年龄有显著的非线性关联。体重在7岁至10岁之间略有增加（估计边际均值为4.77 - 4.82千克），到16岁时降至4.30千克。体况评分在中年时也略有增加，在10.5岁之后下降。综合MCS（基于10个骨骼标志点，最高30分）在7岁至10岁之间从30分逐渐降至28分，到16岁时以更快的速度降至15分。10岁以后，猫出现轻度肌肉流失的可能性大于无肌肉流失，到14岁时，它们体重过轻的可能性大于肥胖。雄性猫更重，超重的几率是雌性猫的2.8倍（P = 0.002）；MCS没有性别差异。患慢性病的猫在所有三个指标上与年龄相关的下降幅度更大。还发现了与各种慢性病的关联，包括骨科异常与体重之间的正相关。这些发现表明，猫在中年之前就开始出现肌肉流失，而身体状况和体重的流失在10岁之后开始。研究结果还概述了在老龄猫的兽医检查中监测身体成分指标的重要性。
