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Associations of sex, breed, and age with cervical vertebral compressive myelopathy in horses: 811 cases (1974-2007).
Abstract: To determine sex, breed, and age distributions in a population of horses with cervical vertebral compressive myelopathy (CVCM), compared with contemporaneous control horses. Methods: Retrospective case-control study. Methods: 811 horses with CVCM and 805 control horses. Methods: The Veterinary Medical Database was searched to identify horses with CVCM and contemporaneous control horses registered between July 1974 and August 2007. Admission date, admitting institution, sex, breed, age at the time of registration in the database, weight, and discharge status (alive, died, or euthanized) were recorded for each case and control horse. Results: On the basis of results of multivariable logistic regression analysis, geldings and sexually intact males had a significantly higher likelihood of having CVCM than females (odds ratio [OR], 2.0 [95% confidence interval, 1.5 to 2.6]; and OR, 2.4 [95% confidence interval, 1.8 to 3.2], respectively). Thoroughbreds, Tennessee Walking Horses, and Warm-bloods were overrepresented in the CVCM group, compared with Quarter Horses. Horses that ranged from < 6 months to or = 10 years of age. Conclusions: Sex, breed, and age predilections were detected in horses with CVCM. Improved understanding of these factors will aid clinical recognition of the disease in groups that may have a high prevalence of CVCM or were previously not recognized to be commonly affected. The results may also stimulate future investigations to further delineate etiopathogenesis, such as breed-related genetic causality.
Publication Date: 2008-11-05 PubMed ID: 18980501DOI: 10.2460/javma.233.9.1453Google Scholar: Lookup The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research article focuses on discovering the impact of sex, breed, and age factors on the prevalence of Cervical Vertebral Compressive Myelopathy (CVCM) in horses. Data was analyzed from a population of 811 horses with CVCM and 805 control horses, identifying males, certain breeds, and horses aged under 7 years as more likely to experience CVCM.
Research Methodology
- The retrospective case-control study operated from data collected for horses with CVCM and control horses between July 1974 and August 2007 from the Veterinary Medical Database.
- Data collected included admission date, admitting institution, sex, breed, age at the time of database registration, weight, and discharge status (alive, died, or euthanized) for all horses.
- Statistical analysis involved multivariable logistic regression, useful for measuring the relationship between multiple factors and an outcome.
Research Findings
- Based on the statistical analysis, both geldings (castrated males) and sexually intact males demonstrated a significantly higher probability of developing CVCM compared to female horses. Intact males were slightly more affected than geldings.
- Certain breeds including Thoroughbreds, Tennessee Walking Horses, and Warm-bloods were overrepresented among the CVCM cases compared to Quarter Horses.
- Horses under 7 years old had higher odds of having CVCM, compared to horses aged 10 years or above.
Implications and Conclusions
- Identifying these predilections can assist clinicians in recognizing the disease in populations that may have a high prevalence of CVCM, or populations not previously recognized as commonly affected.
- This improved understanding of the factors may stimulate future investigations to further clarify the etiopathogenesis of the disease, such as potential breed-related genetic causality.
Cite This Article
APA
Levine JM, Ngheim PP, Levine GJ, Cohen ND.
(2008).
Associations of sex, breed, and age with cervical vertebral compressive myelopathy in horses: 811 cases (1974-2007).
J Am Vet Med Assoc, 233(9), 1453-1458.
https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.233.9.1453 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Age Factors
- Animals
- Breeding
- Case-Control Studies
- Cervical Vertebrae / pathology
- Female
- Genetic Predisposition to Disease
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horse Diseases / genetics
- Horse Diseases / pathology
- Horses
- Likelihood Functions
- Logistic Models
- Male
- Multivariate Analysis
- Odds Ratio
- Retrospective Studies
- Risk Factors
- Sex Factors
- Spinal Cord Compression / epidemiology
- Spinal Cord Compression / genetics
- Spinal Cord Compression / pathology
- Spinal Cord Compression / veterinary
Citations
This article has been cited 14 times.- Kondo T, Sato F, Tsuzuki N, Yamada K. Sex differences in cervical spinal cord and spinal canal development in Thoroughbred horses. J Vet Med Sci 2022 Sep 21;84(10):1363-1367.
- Kondo T, Mashimo Y, Sato F, Tsuzuki N, Yamada K. Investigation of a contributing factor for cervical vertebral stenotic myelopathy using computed tomography for measuring the cervical vertebral volume. J Vet Med Sci 2022 Aug 1;84(8):1084-1087.
- Kondo T, Sato F, Tsuzuki N, Watanabe K, Horiuchi N, Kobayashi Y, Yamada K. Characteristic computed tomographic myelography findings in 23 Thoroughbred horses. J Vet Med Sci 2022 Apr 13;84(4):525-532.
- Hales EN, Aleman M, Marquardt SA, Katzman SA, Woolard KD, Miller AD, Finno CJ. Postmortem diagnoses of spinal ataxia in 316 horses in California. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2021 Jun 15;258(12):1386-1393.
- Rijckaert J, Pardon B, Saey V, Raes E, Van Ham L, Ducatelle R, van Loon G, Deprez P. Determination of magnetic motor evoked potential latency time cutoff values for detection of spinal cord dysfunction in horses. J Vet Intern Med 2019 Sep;33(5):2312-2318.
- Szklarz M, Lipinska A, Slowikowska M, Niedzwiedz A, Marycz K, Janeczek M. Comparison of the clinical and radiographic appearance of the cervical vertebrae with histological and anatomical findings in an eight-month old warmblood stallion suffering from cervical vertebral stenotic myelopathy (CVSM). BMC Vet Res 2019 Aug 15;15(1):296.
- Rijckaert J, Pardon B, Van Ham L, Joosten P, van Loon G, Deprez P. Magnetic motor evoked potentials of cervical muscles in horses. BMC Vet Res 2018 Sep 24;14(1):290.
- Barberini DJ, Aleman M, Aristizabal F, Spriet M, Clark KC, Walker NJ, Galuppo LD, Amorim RM, Woolard KD, Borjesson DL. Safety and tracking of intrathecal allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell transplantation in healthy and diseased horses. Stem Cell Res Ther 2018 Apr 10;9(1):96.
- Hughes KJ, Laidlaw EH, Reed SM, Keen J, Abbott JB, Trevail T, Hammond G, Parkin TD, Love S. Repeatability and intra- and inter-observer agreement of cervical vertebral sagittal diameter ratios in horses with neurological disease. J Vet Intern Med 2014 Nov-Dec;28(6):1860-70.
- Penell JC, Bonnett BN, Pringle J, Egenvall A. Validation of computerized diagnostic information in a clinical database from a national equine clinic network. Acta Vet Scand 2009 Dec 10;51(1):50.
- Hellige M, Schröder C, Seehusen F, Cavalleri JM, Rohn K, Stadler P, Geburek F. Computed tomographic myelography of the cranial cervical spine in Warmblood horses with no spinal pathology-Inter- and intravertebral ratios and distribution of contrast columns in neutral and flexed cervical spine. Equine Vet J 2025 Sep;57(5):1375-1386.
- Dyson S, Phillips K, Zheng S, Aleman M. Congenital variants of the ventral laminae of the sixth and seventh cervical vertebrae are not associated with clinical signs or other radiological abnormalities of the cervicothoracic region in Warmblood horses. Equine Vet J 2025 Mar;57(2):419-430.
- Dyson S, Zheng S, Aleman M. Primary phenotypic features associated with caudal neck pathology in warmblood horses. J Vet Intern Med 2024 Jul-Aug;38(4):2380-2390.
- Bai M, Liu H, Zhang Y, Wang S, Shao Y, Xiong X, Hu X, Yu R, Lan W, Cui Y, Kong X. Peppermint extract improves egg production and quality, increases antioxidant capacity, and alters cecal microbiota in late-phase laying hens. Front Microbiol 2023;14:1252785.
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