Hair arsenic level in rice-based diet-fed Staffordshire bull terriers

• Published in: Veterinary record Vol. 186; no. 17; p. e15
• Main Authors: Rosendahl, Sarah, Anturaniemi, Johanna, Hielm-Björkman, Anna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group Limited 01-05-2020; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; BMJ Publishing Group
• Subjects: Age; Animals; Arsenic; Arsenic - analysis; Case-Control Studies; Diet; Diet - adverse effects; Diet - veterinary; Dogs; Electronic pages; Female; Hair - chemistry; Male; Males; nutrition; Nutrition research; Oryza - chemistry; Regression analysis; Rice; Risk Assessment; Seafood; Studies; toxicology; Veterinary medicine; United States > US; toxicology; dogs; nutrition; arsenic; rice
• ISSN: 0042-4900; 2042-7670; 2042-7670
• DOI: 10.1136/vr.105493

BackgroundThere have been concerns related to inorganic arsenic (iAs) in rice and the risk of chronic toxicity in human beings, especially children. Rice is a common constituent of pet food, and dogs often eat the same food on a continual daily basis for long periods of time. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the risk of chronic iAs exposure in rice-based diet-fed dogs.MethodsHair iAs level was measured in seven rice-based diet-fed dogs (mean age 3.8 years) and in nine dogs that did not consume any rice (mean age 4.4 years), using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.ResultsThe hair iAs level was significantly higher (P=0.005) in dogs fed a rice-based diet (mean 0.143 µg/g) than in dogs that did not consume any rice (mean 0.086 µg/g), while age and sex did not show associations with hair iAs level.ConclusionThe results suggest that eating a rice-based diet for long periods of time represents a risk for chronic iAs exposure in dogs.