Breed distribution of dogs with diabetes mellitus admitted to a tertiary care facility

Objective-To determine which dog breeds are at low and high risk for develo ping diabetes mellitus (DM). Design-Cohort study. Animals-Hospital population of 221 dogs with DM and 42,882 dogs without DM during 5.5 years. Procedure-165 breeds (including a mixed-breed category) were represented in the hospital population. Breed-specific expected numbers of dogs with DM w ere calculated by multiplying the proportion of all dogs admitted to the ho spital that were determined to have DM during the study period by the breed -specific totals during the study period. Breeds or breed groups evaluated in the analysis (n = 20) were restricted to those that had a combined obser ved and expected count > 5 to document breeds at low and high risk for deve loping DM. Proportionate changes in the risk of developing DM by breed were calculated and presented using exact odds ratios, 95% confidence intervals , and P values. Mixed-breed dogs were chosen as the reference breed. Results-Samoyeds, Miniature Schnauzers, Miniature Poodles, Pugs, and Toy Po odles were at high risk for developing DM. Dog breeds found to be at low ri sk for developing DM were German Shepherd Dog, Golden Retriever, and Americ an Pit Bull Terrier. Conclusion and Clinical Relevance-The finding that certain dog breeds are a t low or high risk for developing DM suggests that some genetic defects may predispose dogs to development of DM, whereas other genetic factors may pr otect dogs from development of DM.