Prevalence, survival analysis and multimorbidity of chronic diseases in the general veterinarian-attended horse population of the UK.

This research investigates the prevalence and impact of chronic diseases and multimorbidity in the general veterinarian-attended horse population in the UK, revealing an increasing trend in population age and significant effects on survival times.

Study Overview

• The increase in average age of the global human population has led to more attention being paid to chronic disease and multimorbidity, which refer to multiple health conditions occurring at once.
• The research focuses on the potential for similar trends in the UK’s veterinarian-attended horse population. Prior to this study, there was limited evidence supporting this trend, especially in relation to the prevalence of chronic diseases and multimorbidity.

Data Collection and Analysis

• Data was collected using text mining, a process that involves extracting high-quality information from text, of electronic medical records from seven veterinary practices across the UK.
• By analysing this data using Kaplan-Meier estimates (used to measure the fraction of subjects living for a certain amount of time after treatment) and Cox proportional hazard modelling (used in survival analysis), the researchers could evaluate the apparent prevalence of nine chronic diseases.
• The analysis also allowed the team to assess the relative effects of these diseases on life expectancy of horses post-diagnosis.

Findings

• The findings provided strong evidence of an increasing population age among the general UK veterinarian-attended horse population.
• About 1.2% of the study population showed multimorbidity – the presence of two or more chronic diseases.
• Horses with two diseases had 6.6 times the hazard ratio (probability of death) compared to a horse with no chronic disease, while those with three or more diseases had 21.3 times the hazard ratio.
• Laminitis, a painful and potentially crippling disease that affects the feet of a horse, was involved in 74% of multimorbidity cases.

Conclusion

• The findings revealed that the population of horses attended by UK veterinarians appears to be aging, and that chronic diseases and their co-occurrence are common features within this population.
• The significant impact of multimorbidity on survival times suggests that it should be a focus of further investigation in veterinary science. Chronic and co-occurring diseases pose significant risks to horse populations and require targeted treatment and management strategies.