Publication details
Risk factors for canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome in Slovakia
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2016 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13028-016-0196-5 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13028-016-0196-5 |
| Field | Applied statistics, operation research |
| Keywords | Canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome; Cognitive decline; Risk factors; Prevalence; Epidemiology; Nutrition |
| Description | Background: Increasing prevalence of cognitive impairment in an aging canine population poses a serious health problem. Identifying risk factors, which may influence the onset of cognitive decline, is becoming increasingly important. Here we investigated whether age, sex, weight, nutrition, dogs’ housing and reproductive state were associated with increased risk of canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CCDS) in Slovakia. Results: Age was associated with cognitive decline and nutrition emerged as a significant predictor variable. Dogs fed controlled diets had 2.8 times lower odds of developing CCDS when compared with dogs fed uncontrolled diets. Sex, weight, reproductive state and dogs’ housing were not significantly associated with cognitive decline. Further, the prevalence of CCDS was similar in both small and medium/large sized dogs aged 8–11 years, but differed in dogs at an age of 11–13 years. Conclusion: Age was found to be the most prominent risk factors of CCDS. Nutrition may influence the co |