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Over representation of Burmese cats with diabetes mellitus
Author(s) -
RAND JS,
BOBBERMIEN LM,
HENDRIKZ JK,
COPLAND M.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
australian veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1751-0813
pISSN - 0005-0423
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-0813.1997.tb14340.x
Subject(s) - burmese , cats , diabetes mellitus , breed , medicine , population , fructosamine , endocrinology , biology , zoology , environmental health , philosophy , linguistics
Objective To determine if Burmese cats in Queensland have an increased risk of diabetes mellitus. Design A retrospective study of diabetic and nondiabetic cats that had blood submitted to a veterinary clinical laboratory over a 22 month study period. Sample population 4402 cats Procedure Cats were considered diabetic if blood glucose concentration was > 11 mmol/L and fructosamine was > 406 μmol/L or hydroxybutyrate was >1 mmol/L. Cats were grouped into Burmese and non‐Burmese. Adjusted odds ratios of diabetes were calculated for breed, gender and age group amongst cats with blood glucose > 11 mmol/L. Results Burmese cats comprised 20% of 45 diabetic cats of known breed, which was higher (P < 0.001) than among the normoglycemic reference population of 2203 cats (7% Burmese). There were more females among the diabetic Burmese (62%), but this did not differ (P > 0.05) from the Burmese reference population (45% females). In contrast, males seemed to predominate among diabetic non‐Burmese (63%), although this also did not differ (P > 0.05) from the reference population (55%) or from diabetic Burmese (38% males). The majority (90%) of diabetic cats were older than 6 years, irrespective of breed (median age 12 years, interquartile range 10 to 13 years). This was higher (χ 2 = 8.13, P < 0.005) than among the normoglycaemic reference population, where 69% were older than 6 years. Conclusions Burmese cats were significantly over represented among cats with diabetes mellitus. Irrespective of breed, the risk of diabetes in the study population increased with age.