Incidence of Diabetes Mellitus in Insured Swedish Cats in Relation to Age, Breed and Sex

Abstract

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.

Keywords

Burmese; Epidemiology; Feline; Type 2 diabetes

Published in

Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine
2015, volume: 29, number: 5, pages: 1342-1347
Publisher: WILEY-BLACKWELL

SLU Authors

• Öhlund, Malin

  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Fall, Tove

  • Uppsala University

• Ström Holst, Bodil

  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Hamlin, Helene

  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Bonnett, Brenda

  • International Partnership for Dogs

• Egenvall, Agneta

  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology
Clinical Science
Epidemiology
Public Health, Global Health and Social Medicine

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.13584

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/68455