Exploring relationships between body condition score, body fat, activity level and inflammatory biomarkers.

This study investigates the relationships between horses’ body condition, body weight, fat mass & percentage, and inflammatory markers linked with joint disease. It found a significant positive correlation between body condition score and prostaglandin E (PGE), a bioactive lipid involved in inflammation, which is influenced by both activity level and body condition.

Objective and Methodology

• The research aimed to explore the possible correlation between obesity and inflammation-based joint diseases in horses, a concept well-studied in humans but not in horses.
• The researchers ascertained the body condition score (BCS) of 54 horses in southern Ontario, Canada, and also measured these horses’ total fat mass and body fat percentage using multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (mfBIA).
• All horses were also assessed for lameness using the AAEP (American Association of Equine Practitioners) lameness scale. Synovial fluid was collected from animals to evaluate inflammatory biomarkers like PGE (prostaglandin E) and GAGs (glycosaminoglycans).

Findings

• The study observed a positive correlation between horses’ BCS and other parameters like body weight, fat mass, fat percentage, activity level, and PGE levels in plasma.
• Body weight was also significantly correlated with plasma PGE levels, meaning that as the horses’ body weight increased, so did the levels of inflammatory biomarkers.

Conclusion

• The researchers concluded that body condition score (which is a method of quantifying an animal’s overall body fat and muscularity) is significantly correlated with plasma levels of Prostaglandin E.
• This correlation might be due to a combined effect of activity level and body condition. The study calls for further investigation into the effects of body fat on the risk of joint diseases in horses.