EN01 - Epidemiology of Diabetes Mellitus in Cats Under British Primary Veterinary Care in 2019

Abstract: Background – Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common feline endocrinopathy but limited recent epidemiological data exists.Hypothesis/Objectives – Describe the incidence, prevalence and risk factors for DM amongst cats under British primary veterinary care (PVC) . Animals – Sample of 1,053 DM cases from a 1,255,130 cat cohort under British PVC in 2019. Methods – Cross-sectional analysis of anonymised electronic patients records from VetCompass. The 2019 period prevalence and incidence risk of DM were calculated. Risk factor analysis used multivariable logistic regression modelling.

Results – One-year period prevalence of DM was 0.39% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.37–0.42]). Annual incidence risk was 0.14% (95% CI: 0.13–0.16). Mean age at DM diagnosis was 11.8 years (SD±3.5, n=371). Median adult bodyweight: 5.93kg (IQR; 4.57-711; range: 1.50 – 14.45kg); 63.15% (665/1,053) were male and 853/1,053 (81.00%) of cats were neutered. Analysed risk factors for DM are shown in Table 1. Burmese and Burmilla cats had increased odds of DM when compared to crossbred cats; OR: 3.48 (CI: 2.18-5.56) and OR: 10.33 (CI 3.28-32.51) respectively.

Conclusions and clinical importance – An estimated 0.39% of cats under British PVC are affected by DM. Burmillas are identified at increased risk of DM for the first time, possibly due to descent from Burmese cats. Bodyweight as a diabetic risk factor in relation to breed standard and variation requires further investigation.