Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Diagnostic Criteria for Obesity Disease in Cats.
- Journal:
- Frontiers in veterinary science
- Year:
- 2019
- Authors:
- Okada, Yuki et al.
- Affiliation:
- School of Veterinary Medicine · Japan
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Researchers studied fat levels in cats using a special imaging technique called computed tomography (CT) to understand obesity better. They found that just looking at a cat's body condition score (BCS) doesn't always show how much fat is inside the body, which can lead to inflammation. They created new guidelines to diagnose obesity disease in cats, which include looking for specific symptoms like low levels of a protein called adiponectin and high levels of an inflammatory marker called serum amyloid A (SAA). Cats with a BCS over 7/9 who show two or more of these symptoms are considered to have obesity disease, while those with a BCS between 6/9 and 9/9 without inflammation are classified as having simple obesity. The study suggests that these new criteria can help veterinarians identify obesity in cats earlier and more accurately.
Abstract
Accumulated visceral and subcutaneous fat masses were measured with computed tomography (CT) in cats with various body condition scores (BCS) from 5/9 to 9/9. BCS does not always reflect visceral fat accumulation which induces pro-inflammatory reactions. Obese cats with accumulated visceral fat showed low plasma adiponectin and high serum amyloid A (SAA) concentrations, an inflammatory marker. Based on the above results, new diagnostic criteria for obesity disease were established as follows. For overweight cats with high BCS of >7/9, showing two or more of the following three symptoms, low adiponectin concentrations, hyperlipidemia, and high SAA concentrations, categorizes them as having obesity disease. Cats with BCS 6/9-9/9, without inflammatory reactions, were classified as simple obesity, which is similar to metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) defined in human medicine. Simple obesity group showed significantly higher adiponectin concentrations than those in control group. The obesity disease group showed significantly higher plasma triglyceride (TG) and SAA concentrations and lower concentrations of adiponectin than the control group. Moreover, plasma glucose and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations in the obesity disease group were higher than those in healthy control group, although the differences were not statistically significant. Establishing criteria for obesity disease based on visceral fat accumulation and inflammation markers levels contributes to early and correct diagnosis of obesity in cats.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31508438/