How often do Dogs get diabetes
Experts estimate that 1 in every 200 dogs will develop diabetes. It usually begins in dogs ages 7 to 9 years old and seems to occur twice as often in females as in malles. On October 14, National Pet Obesity Awareness Day, vets participating in a national study will record measurements of cats and dogs who attend their clinics. The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, which sponsors the third annual event, estimates 44 percent of dogs in the United States—33 million—are overweight or obese. Some of the health risks it cites are osteoarthritis, type 2 diabetes, respiratory disorders, high blood pressure, and heart disease. The writer describes her own dog's battle with his weight.
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Canine diabetes is a complex genetic disease of unknown aetiology. It affects 0.005–1.5% of the canine population and shows a clear breed predisposition with the Samoyed being at high risk and the Boxer being at low risk of developing the disease. Canine diabetes is considered to be a disease homologue for human type 1 diabetes (T1D). It results in insulin deficiency as a consequence of autoimmune destruction of islet b-cells in the pancreas and is believed to be mediated by Th1 cytokines (IFNc, TNFa, and IL-2). A number of genes have been associated with type 1 diabetes in humans, including the human leukocyte antigen region, the insulin variable number tandem repeat, PTPN22, CTLA4, IL-4, and IL-13. As yet, these genes have not been evaluated in canine diabetes. In this study, 483 cases of canine diabetes and 869 controls of known breed were analyzed for association with IFNc, IGF2, IL-10, IL-12b, IL-6, insulin, PTPN22, RANTES, IL-4, IL-1a and TNFa. Minor allele frequencies were determined for these genes in each breed. These data were used for comparative analyses in a case– control study, and clear associations with diabetes were identified in some breeds with certain alleles of candidate genes. Some associations were with increased susceptibility to the disease (IFNc, IL-10, IL-12b, IL-6, insulin, PTPN22, IL-4, and TNFa), whereas others were protective (IL-4, PTPN22, IL-6, insulin, IGF2, TNFa). This study demonstrates that a number of the candidate genes previously associated with human T1D also appear to be associated with canine diabetes and identifies an IL-10 haplotype which is associated with diabetes in the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. This suggests that canine diabetes is an excellent comparative and spontaneously occurring disease model of human T1D.