Caregiver-reported increased food motivation and adiposity in dogs receiving antiseizure drugs

Morros-Nuevo, A; Packer, RMA; Regan, N; Raffan, E

Abstract

BackgroundIdiopathic epilepsy is the most common chronic neurological disease in dogs and requires lifelong administration of antiseizure drugs (ASD). A decreased level of energy and increased food intake and weight gain have been described as long-lasting side effects.MethodsWe assessed food motivation (FM), using the previously validated dog obesity risk assessment questionnaire, in dogs diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy (n = 222) and healthy dogs (n = 7086) to determine if epilepsy and ASD were associated with increased FM and adiposity and decreased activity. We also assessed how caregivers managed weight gain in this population of dogs in the study.ResultsDogs with idiopathic epilepsy receiving ASD had significantly higher FM than healthy dogs. Their carers also reported significantly greater interventional effort and food restriction compared with healthy dogs, yet they had significantly higher adiposity. Minimal modelling showed that within the epileptic group, ASD had the highest impact on FM, with an effect size of 32%.LimitationsCarer-reported data were used, which could have introduced bias. Furthermore, the sample size did not allow us to distinguish the effect of individual ASD.ConclusionsASD increases FM in dogs, resulting in greater adiposity.

Citation

Morros-Nuevo, A., Packer, R., Regan, N., & Raffan, E. (2024). Caregiver-reported increased food motivation and adiposity in dogs receiving antiseizure drugs. Veterinary Record, https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.4907

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 17, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Dec 10, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024
• Deposit Date: Jan 27, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 27, 2025
• Print ISSN: 0042-4900
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.4907
• Keywords: dogs; epilepsy; obesity; owner attitudes to pets; veterinary profession; RISK-FACTORS; BODY CONDITION; VETERINARY PRACTICES; ANTIEPILEPTIC DRUG; DIET RESTRICTION; CANINE OBESITY; LIFE-SPAN; EPILEPSY; HEALTH; PREVALENCE