Potential use of cholesterol lipoprotein profile to confirm obesity status in dogs

• Published in: Veterinary research communications Vol. 35; no. 4; pp. 223 - 235
• Main Authors: Mori, Nobuko, Lee, Peter, Kondo, Kazuo, Kido, Toshimi, Saito, Terumasa, Arai, Toshiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-04-2011; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Age Factors; Animals; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Body Composition; Cholesterol - blood; Dog Diseases - blood; Dog Diseases - diagnosis; Dog Diseases - epidemiology; Dogs; Electrophoresis; Female; Japan; Life Sciences; Linear Models; Lipoproteins - blood; Male; Multivariate Analysis; Obesity - diagnosis; Obesity - epidemiology; Obesity - veterinary; Original Article; Physical Examination - methods; Prospective Studies; Sex Factors; Ultracentrifugation; Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science; Zoology; Japan; HDL1; Obesity; Lipoprotein; Dog; Cholesterol
• DOI: 10.1007/s11259-011-9466-x
• EISSN: 1573-7446
• ISSN: 0165-7380

A common sign of obesity, in dogs, is hyperlipidemia, which is characterized by hypercholesterolemia and/or hypertriglycemia. Hyperlipidemia can be caused by a quantitative increase in circulating lipoproteins (LP) or by a higher lipid concentration in the various LP classes. In this study, we sought to determine whether aberrations occur with cholesterol lipoprotein profile, especially with sub HDL-cholesterol fraction % in obese dogs. Using clinically healthy and disease free (no overt signs) body condition score classified obese dogs, of all ages, we attempted to determine the influence of age, gender and obesity status on cholesterol lipoprotein profiling. Overall, no aberration in pattern was observed in obese dogs <8 years of age. However, in older obese animals (≥8 years of age), the general aberration pattern to cholesterol lipoprotein observed was that a significant decrease in HDL2 and 3 fraction % occurs with a concomitant increase in either HDL1-Cho or VLDL and LDL -Cho fraction % depending on gender. Linear regression analysis indicated that obesity status appears to significantly affect total cholesterol, HDL2 and 3-Cho, VLDL and LDL-Cho levels (
P
 = 0.02, 0.046, and 0.045, respectively), whereas it is borderline with HDL1-Cho (
P
 = 0.062). On the other hand, age significantly influenced TG, Total cholesterol, and HDL1-Cho levels (
P
 = 0.009, 0.006, and 0.002, respectively), while gender influenced VLDL and LDL-Cho (
P
 = 0.024) level. Therefore, aberrations in cholesterol lipoprotein profile pattern might be of potential use to assess and diagnose obesity status, in conjunction with BCS, especially of older overweight animals which might be considered borderline obese.