A Survey on Correlation Between Obesity and Hyperlipidemia in Companion Dogs of Ahvaz District

In recent years, disorder in lipid metabolism has been increased markedly in companion animal’s population. Hyperlipidemia is a common sign of obesity in dogs, which is characterized by hypercholesterolemia or hypertriglycemia. The purpose of the present survey is to determine the effect of obesity on blood lipid profile changes (including triglyceride, total cholesterol, HDL-C and LDL-C) and comparing the decisive indicators of obesity in dogs in Ahvaz district. Three groups of thirty dogs referred to Veterinary Hospital of Ahvaz were studied between 2012-2014. The dogs in group A (control), had good body condition score (BCS= 4 to 5). The dogs were all thin (BCS= 1 to 3) in group B, and all obese in group C (BCS= 6 to 9). All of the studied dogs were selected from small breeds (Terrier, Spitz, Pekingese and Shih Tzu), of both sexes and ranging from 1 to 7 years old. Fasting blood samples were collected from all dogs and lipid profiles including serum triglycerides, total cholesterol, HDL and LDL were measured using commercial kits. Hyperlipidemia was confirmed in dogs of group A (normal) in 4 cases (13.33%), group B (thin) one case (3.33%), and group C (obese) in 19 cases (63.33%). Data analysis showed that there was a significant difference between group C (224.83±74.34) with groups A (149±39.66) and B (131.80±24.37) for triglyceride level (p<0.001), as well a significant difference was seen between group C (229.40±60.36) with groups A (178.80±50.17) and B (151.47±23.45) and between group A with B for cholesterol level (p<0.05). The difference was significant for LDL-C between group C (67.10±22.83) with groups A (47.97±13.01) and B (43.07±13.08) (p<0.001), but there was no difference between various groups for HDL-C (p>0.05). The effects of age, gender and breed on the measured values did not show a significant difference between three groups (p>0.05). The present survey showed that there was a correlation between obesity and hyperlipidemia in dogs. Determination of body condition score (BCS) can be as a predictive agent in characterization of lipid profile status. Modification of diet and weight loss is necessary in obese dogs.