`` Grain-free dog food may be associated with heart disease in dogs, '' officially announced by government agencies
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officially published its findings on dilated cardiomyopathy, a form of heart disease in dogs, on June 27, 2019. It has been found that many dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy ate 'grain-free' dog foods that claimed no grain.
FDA Investigation into Potential Link between Certain Diets and Canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy | FDA
https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/news-events/fda-investigation-potential-link-between-certain-diets-and-canine-dilated-cardiomyopathy
This study examines the relationship between dilated cardiomyopathy by examining the results of heart disease diagnosis, such as echocardiography, and extensive clinical records, such as a detailed dietary history, of domestic dogs and cats. Dilated cardiomyopathy is a disease in which the ventricles widen, reducing the function of the heart as a pump and preventing blood from reaching the whole body. When it gets worse, fluid buildup occurs in the legs, abdomen, and lungs, and in the worst case, death.
The clinical records included in the study were data for 560 dogs and 9 cats from January 1, 2014 to April 30, 2019. Cats have significantly fewer cases than dogs, because cats are more prone to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy than dilated cardiomyopathy . This study is limited to dilated cardiomyopathy and does not cover other heart diseases.
In this study, we investigated 'the diet of dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy', and examined in detail the 'dog food brands' and 'the ingredients contained in dog food.'
The following graph summarizes 'dog food brands eaten by dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy', and the vertical axis shows the number of reports. ' Acana ' ranks first, followed by 67, ' Zignature ' (64), ' Taste of the Wild ' (53), and '4Health' (32).
Below is a graph summarizing the ingredients of dog food, the vertical axis is shown in percentage. Dog foods claiming to be 'grain-free' accounted for 91% of the total, and at least 93% of dog foods contained either pea or lentil.
Below is a breakdown of the causes of protein in dog food, with the vertical axis representing the number of cases. Dog foods using chicken as a protein ranked first in 113, lamb (98), salmon (72), white fish (65), kangaroo (58), turkey (57), beef ( 47), followed by pigs (24). Approximately 90% of the reported dog food was dry.
Since these surveys are only the results of `` dog foods eaten by dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy '', `` the number of dogs who regularly eat specific dog foods '' etc. are unknown, We cannot rule out the possibility that “the number of dogs that ate a specific brand / raw material was large, so the number of cases of dilated cardiomyopathy was also large.” Therefore, the causal relationship of 'eating certain brands / ingredients increases the risk of dilated cardiomyopathy' is still under investigation. However, the FDA believes that grain-free and peas / lentils are associated with dilated cardiomyopathy, and states that 'we are continuing to investigate potential associations.'
A survey has also been published on dog breeds with dilated cardiomyopathy. Dilated cardiomyopathy is known to be associated with hereditary characteristics by dog breed and gender, and reported cases were mainly in large dogs. The following images summarize the reports on dog breeds, `` Golden Retriever '' (95), `` Mix Dog '' (62), Labrador Retriever (47), `` Great Den '' (25), `` 'Pitbull' (23), followed by
Since this report also does not know the 'ratio of dog breeds', it is not clear whether 'many people have golden retrievers, so many cases of dilated cardiomyopathy' have been reported.
This is the third FDA report on dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs and cats following February 2019. The FDA plans to continue this investigation.
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