Open AccessIncidence of Diabetes Mellitus in Insured Swedish Cats in Relation to Age, Breed and Sex
Author(s) -
Öhlund M.,
Fall T.,
Ström Holst B.,
HanssonHamlin H.,
Bonnett B.,
Egenvall A.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of veterinary internal medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.356
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1939-1676
pISSN - 0891-6640
DOI - 10.1111/jvim.13584
Subject(s) - medicine , cats , incidence (geometry) , breed , purebred , demography , diabetes mellitus , obesity , veterinary medicine , endocrinology , zoology , biology , physics , sociology , optics
Background Diabetes mellitus ( DM ) is a common endocrinopathy in cats. Most affected cats suffer from a type of diabetes similar to type 2 diabetes in humans. An increasing prevalence has been described in cats, as in humans, related to obesity and other lifestyle factors. Objectives To describe the incidence of DM in insured Swedish cats and the association of DM with demographic risk factors, such as age, breed and sex. Animals A cohort of 504,688 individual cats accounting for 1,229,699 cat‐years at risk ( CYAR ) insured by a Swedish insurance company from 2009 to 2013. Methods We used reimbursed insurance claims for the diagnosis of DM . Overall incidence rates and incidence rates stratified on year, age, breed, and sex were estimated. Results The overall incidence rate of DM in the cohort was 11.6 cases (95% confidence interval [ CI ], 11.0–12.2) per 10,000 CYAR . Male cats had twice as high incidence rate (15.4; 95% CI , 14.4–16.4) as females (7.6; 95% CI , 6.9–8.3). Domestic cats were at higher risk compared to purebred cats. A significant association with breed was seen, with the Burmese, Russian Blue, Norwegian Forest cat, and Abyssinian breeds at a higher risk compared to other cats. No sex predisposition was found among Burmese cats. Several breeds with a lower risk of DM were identified. Conclusions and clinical importance Our results verify that the Burmese breed is at increased risk of developing DM . We also identified several previously unreported breeds with increased or decreased risk of DM .