Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is a neurobehavioural syndrome affecting aged dogs. Using a la... more Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is a neurobehavioural syndrome affecting aged dogs. Using a large cross-sectional epidemiological study of older dogs, this study aimed to estimate the prevalence of CCD amongst community based dogs (mean age 11.67years; range 8-19.75) and to determine the rate of veterinary diagnosis amongst affected dogs. An 84-item questionnaire was used to obtain information across six behavioural domains. Of the eligible survey responses obtained (n=957) a randomly selected one-half (n=497) was used for this study. Using a provisional diagnosis based on 27 significant behavioural items, the prevalence rate of CCD was estimated to be 14.2%. This was in contrast with only 1.9% diagnosed with CCD by a veterinarian. There was an exponential increase in prevalence of CCD with age (R2=0.9435), but prevalence did not differ by breed size or between longevity groups. The prevalence rate of CCD reported here is consistent with previous findings, and further supports the contention that the majority of these dogs do not receive a formal diagnosis.
Iron deficiency (ID) is an important consequence of blood donation. The epidemiology of this prob... more Iron deficiency (ID) is an important consequence of blood donation. The epidemiology of this problem in the blood donor population was therefore studied to enable appropriate targeting of potential solutions to donor ID. A nationally representative, cluster-based cross-sectional study of Australian blood donors was performed. Donors were eligible for inclusion if they fulfilled criteria for blood donation or were deferred due to low or falling hemoglobin. Ferritin was measured and demographic and donation data were collected. A total of 3094 blood donors were recruited, of which samples were collected from 3049 donors; 1873 had exclusively donated whole blood (WB only), 242 had exclusively made apheresis donations, and 530 had not donated ("new" donors) in the previous 24 months. The prevalence of ID in new female donors was 12.0% compared with 1.3% in males. The prevalence of ID in female WB-only donors was 26.4%; it increased with donation frequency and decreased with age. The prevalence in male WB-only donors was 6.3% with no evident change with age or donation frequency. The prevalence of ID in apheresis-only donors (females 6.3%; males 2.2%) did not significantly exceed that of new donors nor did it change with donation frequency. Importantly, the risk of ID could not be satisfactorily predicted in an individual donor by his or her anemia status or with predictive modeling incorporating demographic and donation data. ID is especially prevalent in female, premenopausal, frequent WB donors. Strategies to combat ID should be implemented, specifically targeting this group.
Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is an age-related neurobehavioural syndrome which, although co... more Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is an age-related neurobehavioural syndrome which, although common, is severely under-diagnosed in community-based dogs. Using data from a large cross-sectional survey of older dogs (n=957), this study aimed to develop a clinical scale for assessing CCD. Data-driven analytical techniques were used to distil 27 significant behavioural items (previously identified as relevant to CCD) into an assessment tool with maximal cognito-behavioural breadth whilst maintaining clinical utility. The resulting CCD rating scale (CCDR) comprised 13 behavioural items, of which three were sensitive to the severity of the disease stage. When tested on an independent survey sample, the CCDR had an overall 98.9% diagnostic accuracy with a 77.8% positive predictive value and a 99.3% negative predictive value. Test-re-test reliability of the CCDR over 2months was also high (r=0.73, P<0.0001). In conjunction with veterinary assessment, the CCDR could be a valuable tool in research and clinical settings for both the assessment and longitudinal tracking of cognitive change.
Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 2013
ABSTRACT The Australian Racing Board makes a distinction under its Rules of Racing concerning whi... more ABSTRACT The Australian Racing Board makes a distinction under its Rules of Racing concerning whip use between forehand and backhand whip action that is critically important: before the final 100 m of a race, the whip shall be used in a forehand manner neither in consecutive strides nor on more than 5 occasions. This seems to imply that backhand whip use is less closely scrutinized, which may have profound implications for horse welfare. We used pressure-detection pads to examine the force on the impact of 288 whip strikes (left forehand, left backhand, right forehand, and right backhand; n = 72 each) in batches of 12 consecutive strikes by 6 right-handed jockeys based in Victoria, a state in which thoroughbred racing is always conducted in a counterclockwise direction. The mean latency (±standard error of the mean) to complete each series of 12 strikes was 6.89 ± 0.44 seconds. The mean for force was 46.90 ± 5.39 N. Significant differences in force emerged between individual jockeys and in most interactions between jockey, hand and action. This highlights the problems the industry has in trying to enforce equity in whip use to satisfy punters while at the same time giving reassurances about horse welfare. The current results show that action (forehand vs. backhand) does not influence force on impact when using the nondominant hand. However, when using the dominant hand, these jockeys struck with more force in the backhand (P = 0.02). This result challenges the current focus on welfare concerns around forehand whip strikes. It should inform any review of the rules around whip use because it may help to avoid any unjustified focus on either forehand whip use or backhand whip use. This would help to inform the debate around levels of impact on fatigued horses when they are being struck for a perceived sporting gain.
Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is a neurobehavioural syndrome affecting aged dogs. Using a la... more Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is a neurobehavioural syndrome affecting aged dogs. Using a large cross-sectional epidemiological study of older dogs, this study aimed to estimate the prevalence of CCD amongst community based dogs (mean age 11.67years; range 8-19.75) and to determine the rate of veterinary diagnosis amongst affected dogs. An 84-item questionnaire was used to obtain information across six behavioural domains. Of the eligible survey responses obtained (n=957) a randomly selected one-half (n=497) was used for this study. Using a provisional diagnosis based on 27 significant behavioural items, the prevalence rate of CCD was estimated to be 14.2%. This was in contrast with only 1.9% diagnosed with CCD by a veterinarian. There was an exponential increase in prevalence of CCD with age (R2=0.9435), but prevalence did not differ by breed size or between longevity groups. The prevalence rate of CCD reported here is consistent with previous findings, and further supports the contention that the majority of these dogs do not receive a formal diagnosis.
Iron deficiency (ID) is an important consequence of blood donation. The epidemiology of this prob... more Iron deficiency (ID) is an important consequence of blood donation. The epidemiology of this problem in the blood donor population was therefore studied to enable appropriate targeting of potential solutions to donor ID. A nationally representative, cluster-based cross-sectional study of Australian blood donors was performed. Donors were eligible for inclusion if they fulfilled criteria for blood donation or were deferred due to low or falling hemoglobin. Ferritin was measured and demographic and donation data were collected. A total of 3094 blood donors were recruited, of which samples were collected from 3049 donors; 1873 had exclusively donated whole blood (WB only), 242 had exclusively made apheresis donations, and 530 had not donated ("new" donors) in the previous 24 months. The prevalence of ID in new female donors was 12.0% compared with 1.3% in males. The prevalence of ID in female WB-only donors was 26.4%; it increased with donation frequency and decreased with age. The prevalence in male WB-only donors was 6.3% with no evident change with age or donation frequency. The prevalence of ID in apheresis-only donors (females 6.3%; males 2.2%) did not significantly exceed that of new donors nor did it change with donation frequency. Importantly, the risk of ID could not be satisfactorily predicted in an individual donor by his or her anemia status or with predictive modeling incorporating demographic and donation data. ID is especially prevalent in female, premenopausal, frequent WB donors. Strategies to combat ID should be implemented, specifically targeting this group.
Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is an age-related neurobehavioural syndrome which, although co... more Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is an age-related neurobehavioural syndrome which, although common, is severely under-diagnosed in community-based dogs. Using data from a large cross-sectional survey of older dogs (n=957), this study aimed to develop a clinical scale for assessing CCD. Data-driven analytical techniques were used to distil 27 significant behavioural items (previously identified as relevant to CCD) into an assessment tool with maximal cognito-behavioural breadth whilst maintaining clinical utility. The resulting CCD rating scale (CCDR) comprised 13 behavioural items, of which three were sensitive to the severity of the disease stage. When tested on an independent survey sample, the CCDR had an overall 98.9% diagnostic accuracy with a 77.8% positive predictive value and a 99.3% negative predictive value. Test-re-test reliability of the CCDR over 2months was also high (r=0.73, P<0.0001). In conjunction with veterinary assessment, the CCDR could be a valuable tool in research and clinical settings for both the assessment and longitudinal tracking of cognitive change.
Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 2013
ABSTRACT The Australian Racing Board makes a distinction under its Rules of Racing concerning whi... more ABSTRACT The Australian Racing Board makes a distinction under its Rules of Racing concerning whip use between forehand and backhand whip action that is critically important: before the final 100 m of a race, the whip shall be used in a forehand manner neither in consecutive strides nor on more than 5 occasions. This seems to imply that backhand whip use is less closely scrutinized, which may have profound implications for horse welfare. We used pressure-detection pads to examine the force on the impact of 288 whip strikes (left forehand, left backhand, right forehand, and right backhand; n = 72 each) in batches of 12 consecutive strikes by 6 right-handed jockeys based in Victoria, a state in which thoroughbred racing is always conducted in a counterclockwise direction. The mean latency (±standard error of the mean) to complete each series of 12 strikes was 6.89 ± 0.44 seconds. The mean for force was 46.90 ± 5.39 N. Significant differences in force emerged between individual jockeys and in most interactions between jockey, hand and action. This highlights the problems the industry has in trying to enforce equity in whip use to satisfy punters while at the same time giving reassurances about horse welfare. The current results show that action (forehand vs. backhand) does not influence force on impact when using the nondominant hand. However, when using the dominant hand, these jockeys struck with more force in the backhand (P = 0.02). This result challenges the current focus on welfare concerns around forehand whip strikes. It should inform any review of the rules around whip use because it may help to avoid any unjustified focus on either forehand whip use or backhand whip use. This would help to inform the debate around levels of impact on fatigued horses when they are being struck for a perceived sporting gain.
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