Case-Control Study of Risk Factors for Equine Asthma in Texas.

This research aims to identify the risk factors for the development of equine asthma in horses, focusing on a sample taken from the Texas A&M University Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital between 2014 and 2018. The study found obesity to be the only significant risk factor in this horse population.

Research Objective

• The goal of this research was to unearth host-related risk factors that could lead to the development of equine asthma, a condition commonly seen in horses.

Methodology

• The study is retrospective and case-control in nature and utilizes horses from the Texas A&M University Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital over a span of five years, i.e., 2014-2018.
• The research processed 37 mild-to-severe incident cases of equine asthma, all clinically diagnosed with cytologic proof of the disease.
• Two control populations were established for each case, one being a temporal control and the other age-matched control, each population also being 37 in number.
• Multiple sets of data were collected from all the cases, including signalment, details about dietary and stable management, medical history, metabolic status, findings from the physical examination, and the results of cytologic evaluations via bronchoalveolar lavage or tracheal wash.

Analysis and Results

• The collected data were analyzed using Conditional logistic regression, which compared the details of the equine asthma cases with each set of controls.
• The analysis found that the only statistically significant risk factor for equine asthma in this specific horse population was obesity (Body Condition Score ≥ 7).

Impact and Conclusion

• The findings of this study can help in identifying factors that could be managed or targeted to prevent the development of equine asthma in horses and further investigate the disease’s pathogenesis.
• Recognizing and intervening early in horses at risk of lower airway disease could potentially reduce the disease’s impact.