Pit Bull Diet DCM Study
Literature Discussed: Pit bull-type breeds with dilated cardiomyopathy eating nontraditional diets improve after diet change (2015-2022). Fischer, K. E., Rush, J. E., & Freeman, L. M. (2023). Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 1–9. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.23.01.0025
Key Takeaway: "[Pit bulls with DCM] eating nontraditional diets that changed diets had significant improvements in echocardiographic measurements after diet change."
Funding: Specific funding source not disclosed (likely internally funded University research). Potential COIs diclosed by authors for previous funding receipt or sponsored lectures to a multitude of pet food manufacturers.
Summary:
Medical records were reviewed for owner and cardiologist submitted cases of dilated cardiomyopathy in pit bull type breeds. This is a retrospective study, meaning it "looked back" at existing data, and it was a multicenter study, meaning that the dogs included in data analysis were diagnosed and managed at different veterinary hospitals.
112 cases were submitted for inclusion, and 21 were excluded for a variety of reasons documented in the full paper. This left a final pool of 91 cases for analysis. 7 of these cases were from outside of the USA (6 in Canada, 1 in Germany). Of the 76 dogs with known diet history, 84% of dogs were eating non-traditional commercial diets, and the other 16% were eating were eating traditional commercial diets.
If you enjoyed this article, you may also like:
Disinformation Still Dominates Diet & DCM Dialogue
Change of diet reduces measurement of heart damage marker in dogs fed grain-free
Another DCM study (2022) shows improved cardiac parameters when changing from non-traditional diet
Diet-Associated / Non-Hereditary DCM Q&A (2021)
Diet-Associated Timeline (Routinely updated)
DCM Resources
Facebook Group Diet-Associated Dilated Dilated Cardiomyopathy in Dogs
Sub-group for Veterinary Professionals
Follow me on Social Media: @AllTradesDVM
Consider supporting the blog: