A case–control study of risk factors for canine atopic dermatitis among boxer, bullterrier and West Highland white terrier dogs in Sweden

Abstract

Environmental and dietary risk factors for the development of canine atopic dermatitis (CAD) in the high-risk breeds of boxer, bullterrier and West Highland white terrier were assessed in a case-control study. A logistic regression model was developed to evaluate their relative importance in 58 cases from 12 practices in Sweden and 61 unaffected controls, matched to cases by breed and year of birth. The final model included a random error term for 'examining veterinarian', as dogs from the same practice were not considered independent. No effect of gender, season of birth, environment, vaccination or de-worming practices on the odds of developing CAD was detected. The main finding was that feeding a diet including noncommercial products to the bitch during lactation had a protective effect on the development of CAD in her offspring; the odds of developing CAD were twice as high among offspring from bitches that were not exposed to home-made/noncommercial diets [95% confidence interval (CI) of the odds ratio: 1.2-3.8]. The population attributable fraction for not feeding home-made diets to the lactating bitch was estimated as 0.4 (95% CI: 0.04-0.63). Randomized controlled clinical trials are needed to further support the finding of a potential protective role of diet in CAD development.

The Effect of Early Diet on Canine Atopic Dermatitis (CAD) in Three High-Risk Breeds

“…In the initial case-control analysis preceding this study, there was an indication of a protective effect on the development of CAD in her offspring by feeding a diet including non-commercial ingredients to the bitch during lactation [8]. In the present study, the dietary exposure was scrutinized in detail.…”

“…The odds of developing CAD were twice as high in the offspring from bitches that were not exposed to home-made/non-commercial diets (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.2-3.8) [8]. This generated the hypothesis that microbial exposure in early life by being exposed to "non-commercial dietary constituents" might stimulate the development of the immune-system in a way that provides protection against allergies.…”

“…The CAD cases were recruited prospectively by twelve Swedish veterinarians with a special interest in dermatology. The cases were diagnosed using criteria modified from Willemse [8,9]. The dogs were classified as having CAD if they fulfilled the inclusion criteria after exclusion of ectoparasites, skin infections (bacterial pyoderma or Malassezia dermatitis), and if the dogs had a negative response to strict elimination diets (novel or hydrolysed protein) for 8 weeks.…”

Canine atopic dermatitis in the Middle East: clinical signs, signalment and common allergens

“…Nevertheless, belonging to one of these For groups' details see Table 1 *43 dogs were not tested for cotton seeds breeds was not a parameter for inclusion in the new criteria (Favrot et al 2010). The Labrador Retriever and the Golden Retriever were found to have a very high predilection for CAD in several studies from North America, Europe and Australia (Zur et al 2002;Nodtvedt et al 2007;Jaeger et al 2010). These breeds showed a strong heritability for the disease (Shaw et al 2004).…”

“…CAD is difficult to diagnose because there is no specific diagnostic test or pathognomonic sign; rather, diagnosis is based on meeting certain criteria and eliminating other pruritic diseases (Willemse, 1986;Reedy et al 1997;Griffin and DeBoer, 2001;Scott et al 2001;Favrot et al 2010). Published studies have described the disease in various continents and countries (Saridomichelakis et al 1999;Masuda et al 2000;Mueller et al 2000;Youn et al 2002;Zur et al 2002;Tarpataki et al 2006;Nodtvedt et al 2007;Picco et al 2008). However, the multiple aspects and presentations of the disease in the Middle East have not been reported, and the aim of this study is to describe CAD as well as the common environmental allergens associated with affected dogs in this part of the world.…”