Abstract
The objectives of the present study were to investigate age of onset and clinical signs in canine atopic dermatitis (CAD) by using descriptive epidemiology. Medical records of 2,338 dogs diagnosed by veterinarians in 996 hospitals were evaluated with references to gender, geographic distribution, breeds, and a type of a diet given, and smoking status of an owner. Backward elimination in multiple regression analysis was performed, and non-significant variables (P>0.05) were eliminated from the models. Mean age of onset in CAD was 2.56 years old (0.05 SEM). Earlier age of onset was associated with breeds, spayed female dogs, dogs living with a cat, and dogs owned by a smoker (P<0.05). Each clinical signs was also associated with breeds, intact female dogs, dogs living with a cat and dogs owned by a smoker (P<0.05). In conclusion, this study explored an association between age of onset and clinical signs in CAD and breeds, sex or environmental factors.
