2025/08/26 by Caragelasco, Douglas Segalla, de Carvalho, Marina Louza Palmeira, Vargas, Alessandra Martins +1
#Medicine and Health Sciences #Veterinary Medicine #cats #dogs #endocrinology #epidemiology #systematic review #veterinary medicine
paper · doi:10.17605/osf.io/6ahxy
This study maps and synthesizes the prevalence of major endocrinopathies in dogs and cats in Brazil. A systematic review (PRISMA, 2020) was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, VETINDEX, and LILACS databases via BVS-Vet and SciELO (2005–2025), as well as gray literature sources. Screening and standardized data extraction were independently performed by two reviewers, and methodological quality was assessed using the JBI tool. When possible, prevalence meta-analyses were applied using random-effects models and Freeman–Tukey transformation; heterogeneity was quantified by I²; and narrative synthesis was used when pooling was not feasible. For comparative purposes, prevalence studies of endocrinopathies from the United Kingdom were used, as they employ more reliable methodologies for population-based research. In Brazilian dogs, pool estimates indicated diabetes mellitus at 2.1% (95% CI: 0–10.8%; I² = 99.7%), hypothyroidism at 3.2% (95% CI: 0.0–24.1%; I² = 99.8%), hypercortisolism at 12.6% (95% CI: 0–70%; I² = 99.9%), and hyperparathyroidism at 0.02% (95% CI: 0–0.12%; I² = 51.3%); hypoadrenocorticism was rare (0.09% in a multicenter cohort). In cats, hyperthyroidism was observed at 14.8% (5–28.5%; I² = 95.2%), and a single study of diabetes mellitus in a specialized endocrinology service reported 42%, both reflecting selection of high-risk, biased populations, limiting generalizability. By contrast, UK population-based studies reported, among others, canine hypercortisolism at 0.28% (0.25–0.31), hypothyroidism at 0.23%, diabetes mellitus at 0.34%, and feline hyperthyroidism at 2.38% in the total population of cats seen (8.66% among those aged ≥10 years). Differences between countries appear mainly due to referral bias in Brazilian studies (university hospitals/specialized services), diagnostic heterogeneity, and high overall risk of bias, in contrast to standardized primary-care cohorts from the UK. Thus, the available Brazilian estimates likely overstate population prevalence. The study highlights the need for multicenter, primary-care-based research using standardized diagnostic criteria and harmonized clinical records to better inform and guide clinical practice and animal health management.