Osteoarthritis is one of the most common diseases in veterinary medicine. There are various causes for joints developing OA, with some of them being well investigated, while others are still a matter of speculation.
In this retrospective study we examined the prevalence of OA in the shoulder, elbow, hip and stifle joints in a clinic population of dogs older than 8 years, which were presented mostly due to orthopaedic complaints. Dogs were included in the study if one or more of the aforementioned joints was included in the radiographs. Radiographs were reviewed by three different observers and graded by severity.
Prevalence of OA was 39.2%, 57.4%, 35.9% and 36.4% for the shoulder, elbow, hip and stifle, respectively. There was no correlation between higher grades of OA and weight as well as age, but significantly higher prevalence of OA in heavier groups when grouped for weight. Sex and castration status did not affect presence of OA. As most of the examined joints were free of OA, radiographic findings suggestive of OA should not be considered normal in senescent dogs.
The results of this study do not support the anecdotal theory that a certain degree of osteoarthritic change is normal in senescent dogs, as most of the examined joints (59.7%) were free of radiographic visible OA. Our results report higher numbers of OA compared to other studies with populations where younger individuals were also included. (Alves et al., 2020, Anderson et al., 2018, Anderson et al., 2020, Smith et al., 2012, Smith et al., 2001). This is greatly influenced by the fact, that in our study the majority of the examined dogs was presented for orthopaedic complaints.
