Diabetes Risk in Dogs & Owners Go Hand-in-Paw

Owners of a dog with diabetes may be at an increased risk for the condition themselves, according to a new study.

In a longitudinal study of almost 210,000 pairs of dogs and their owners, owners had a 32% increased risk of type 2 diabetes if their dog had diabetes as well (adjusted HR 1.32, 95% CI 1.04-1.68) reported Beatrice Kennedy, MD, PhD, of Uppsala University in Sweden and colleagues reported in The BMJ‘s Christmas edition.*

This relationship also worked the other way, as dogs were also at slightly higher risk for developing diabetes if their owners already had diabetes (HR 1.28, 1.01-1.63). However, this link wasn’t statistically significant after adjusting for the owner’s age (adjusted HR 1.11, 95% CI 0.87-1.42).

No such link was found with cats, however. In the nearly 125,000 cat-owner pairs, the humans faced the same risk for type 2 diabetes whether or not their cats had it (adjusted HR 1.00, 95% CI 0.74-1.36), and the reverse was true as well (HR 0.99, 95% CI 0.77-1.27).

“We have not had access to information about household lifestyle behaviors, but we think the association [with dogs] might be due to shared physical activity patterns and possibly also shared dietary habits as well as shared risk of adiposity,” Kennedy explained in a statement. “If shared exercise habits are indeed a key factor, it might further help explain why we don’t see any shared diabetes risk in cat owners and their cats.”

“Humans and dogs have lived together for at least 15,000 years and continue to share their everyday lives for better or worse,” added co-study author Tove Fall, PhD, also of Uppsala University.

The researchers also posed the idea that owners of diabetic dogs may be more aware of the disease and therefore may be more inclined to request laboratory screening from their own healthcare providers, even with no symptoms of hyperglycemia, thus “leading to an increased early detection rate of type 2 diabetes in owners.”

The researchers drew upon data from Swedish national registers paired with the Agria Pet Insurance company, which covers about 40% of the nation’s dog population and 23% of domestic cats. Pets and their owners were followed from 2007 to 2012.

Type 2 diabetes diagnosis in owners was identified from ICD codes in the National Patient Register or related drug prescriptions. Type 1 diabetes diagnoses were not included.

As expected, dog owners with type 2 diabetes tended to be older, male, and less likely to have college-level education. Diabetic dogs also tended to be older, but also female and of a “high-risk for diabetes” breed.

The latter included Australian terrier, Samoyed, Swedish Lapphund, Swedish elkhound, border collie, Finnish hound, drever, west Highland white terrier, Hamilton hound, and miniature and toy poodles. Dogs considered to naturally be at lower risk for diabetes include the Jack Russell terrier, miniature dachshund, German shepherd, rough haired collie, standard poodle, soft coated Wheaten terrier, bearded collie, golden retriever, boxer, and papillon.

*BMJ Christmas edition articles are completely factual and based in genuine research, though the topics may be risible.

Last Updated December 11, 2020