Another study says NO link to Dog Food and DCM?
The Dog Food and Heart Disease (DCM) link is rather confusing… leading many pet parents to ask…
WHAT should I be feeding?
A NEW Study claims no rise in DCM linked to Grain Free Pet Food Sales…
Incidence of Canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy Diagnosed at Referral Institutes and Grain-Free Pet Food Store Sales: A Retrospective Survey
The average incidence rate of DCM, amongst referral cases seen in the participating hospitals, was 3.90% (range 2.53-5.65%), while grain-free diet sales increased from 2011 to 2019. Nationally, the data did not support a significant change in percent DCM over time, from 2000 to 2019.
There was no significant correlation between the national DCM incidence rate or the individual breed groups (P > 0.05) in relation to the grain-free pet food sales.
However, additional studies are necessary to understand whether regional factors contribute to increased DCM incidence rates within smaller cohorts.
Dr Jones comments…
Other studies say otherwise.
Tufts study links some dog foods to canine heart disease
A new study from Tufts links certain dry dog foods to deadly canine heart disease, and researchers are eyeing peas as a potentially dangerous ingredient for pooches.
Researchers call dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) “the second most common heart disease affecting pet dogs, with prevalence over 50% in some breeds." DCM can lead to congestive heart failure or “sudden death, " and be the result of environmental factors like a dog’s diet.
There is MORE to this study, and the results are not quite as clear.
In total the FDA has reported 1300 dogs testing positive to DCM linked to diet…
That equates to .001% of the dogs in the United States.
Chances of this EVER affecting your dog are small.
I’ll be going into the specifics of this study and MORE on my upcoming webinar… (and I hope you attend!!)
Best Wishes,
Dr Andrew
