Hypothyroidism in Akitas is 70%?

tim3308

Hi,

My background/pack of NK's is in my intro thread(thanks for all the nice welcome's, again)... we now have a young AA pup. The headline I read in a thread here on the site. Is this really true - that high of a %? If so, "wow"!
So how old should our male be first checked for hypothyroidism by our vet? Thanks!

shibamistress

Hmmmm....where'd you see that? I don't think that's accurate. While certainly hypothyroidism is a concern in Akitas, it isn't THAT high, and a good breeder will have been very careful to examine their lines, and not breed dogs that are hypothyroid. (That said, it usually shows up later in life, so it could be missed, and it is not always something has a genetic component, so there are no guarantees). But its something a prospective puppy buyer should be asking about, along with the OFA and CERF results (and a buyer should CHECK those results on the OFA and CERF page, rather than just believing someone who says "their hips are fine!").

Hypothyroidism usually shows up in older dogs but in three of mine who have had it, it showed up around 2 years old, so it can show up earlier. If a dog that has been normally fairly mellow shows new aggression towards people and other dogs, it's worth checking the thyroid. Not all dogs will show the physical symptoms, which include poor coat, oily coat, brittle hair, and especially, the classic sign, hair loss on the tail.

Talk to your breeder about this. And also, be aware of the signs and if you see anything problematic, talk to your vet.

eta: I did, btw, see that a number of Akita rescue groups and such are quoting the 70% number, but I have not seen one link to any hard evidence yet, so I'm kind of dubious about that number, until I see proof.

tim3308

Hmmmm....where'd you see that?

It was under akita adolescence thread.
Bearmom: "You may also want to get your Akita's thyroid levels tested next time you are at the vet. A majority of Akitas (something like 70%) suffer from hypothyroidism...with one symptom being sudden onset aggression."


At first read, yes, that number seems alarmingly high - as in wrong or scary if true, hence my post...

We will ask the breeder. Thanks, Lisa!

PoetikDragon

85.6% of all statistics are made up.

I know of no formal studies on frequency of any disorder within the American Akita or Japanese Akita breeds. There are a number of concerns to look out for - VKH and SA at the top of the list IMO, followed by thyroid, hips, and eyes. Akitas often have thrombocytopenia but it is rarely ever harmful for them. The lack of formal studies for any of the disorders present in the Nihon Ken is one of the reasons why I am going back to school for my Animal Science masters. I want to do something about it.

BearMom

Hi Tim, that 70% stat is from Barbara Bouyet's book "Akita, Treasure of Japan".

tim3308

Thanks, BearMom...alarming number, either way, no? Unless behind that number is another number that says 70% of the 70% exhibit no symptoms...?

PoetikDragon

Are you referring to this?

In a study of 634 dogs compiled by Dr. W. Jean Dodds and scientists at Tufts University, thyroid dysfunction was found in 62% of the aggressive dogs. 77% of the dogs suffered seizures, 47% exhibited fearful behavior, and 31% of the dogs were hyperactive. Out of the 95 dogs with dominant aggressive traits placed on twice daily Soloxine, 58 showed improvement by 75% of more, compared to 3% utilizing behavior modification. (Diagnosis was made using the total thyroid panel TT4, TT3, FT4, FT3, TSH and TgAA).

Results of the study showed that a statistically significant relationship existed in dogs between:
    Thyroid dysfunction and seizure disorder
    Thyroid dysfunction and dog-to-human aggression (dog-to-dog aggression showed a trend but was not significant).

The Akita is the second breed most commonly seen with aberrant behavior due to thyroid dysfunction. In the same study, 24 out of 33 akitas with aberrant behavior were hypothyroid.

If this is the section you're referring to, I think the key thing to take away is that they're studying dogs who have aggression or other behavioral or health issues. It is saying that in Akitas, if the dog has those issues, there's a high probability that it is caused by thyroid dysfunction. That doesn't mean thyroid dysfunction itself is extremely common.

So if your Akita turns aggressive towards people, becomes hyperactive, has weight problems, starts having seizures, or any other trait possibly attributed to thyroid dysfunction - have that checked first.

shibamistress

@Poetikdragon beat me to it: I was just looking up all the references in Bouyet's book, because I think she does a decent job of actually citing her sources. I saw the same thing Claire quoted, but did not see anywhere anything like 70% of Akitas are hyperthyroid, and in fact, she notes that while it is a concern in Akitas, it does not appear to be quite common in "over 70 middle-sized to large breeds" according to a 1994 AKC study. (pg 266).

If a dog had it, it generally has symptoms, though they can be missed if you're not used to dealing with it. And of course, a dog can develop hypothyroidism for a variety of reasons.

It is easy to treat, thankfully, but it is something to pay attention to as well. As Claire noted, there are some other even bigger concerns to look for in Akitas, and there are less common things too: like my boy has microphthalmia, among other health issues including being hypothyroid.

Dr. Jean Dodds, who is an expert in canine thyroid issues, does list Akitas, among other breeds, as dogs with a propensity for problems, so it is something to be concerned about (and Dr. Dodds has a great book about it, as well as information on her Hemopet website). I just don't think that 70% number, which is bandied around a lot, is accurate, and it's kind of unfortunate that so many Akita groups have just posted that as if it is correct without using any source materials at all (and as some people noted to me, most people don't have any idea where it comes from or if it is accurate at all, but they quote it all the time).

BearMom

Apologies!

My memory was incorrect. That 70% stat was not from Barbara Bouyet's book, it was from her article for Akita Rescue Society of America website.

http://www.akitarescue.com/disease and disorders.htm

shibamistress

Apologies!

My memory was incorrect. That 70% stat was not from Barbara Bouyet's book, it was from her article for Akita Rescue Society of America website.

http://www.akitarescue.com/disease and disorders.htm

Thanks for linking that! And it still doesn't have a source. Sigh. It's probably this article, though, that many other rescues and groups are quoting, since it is Bouyet. I still want a real source with data before I believe it though!

PoetikDragon

Thanks for the link!

Our veterinarians have conducted tests and estimate the incidence is now at over 70%.

This is kind of slippery. Its not a study at all, but the number of cases a local (?) vet has seen. Well, of course they're not going to see many healthy Akitas in their practice. People rarely take a healthy dog to a vet for more than annual shots. Who would do a thyroid panel on a healthy dog unless they were planning to breed?

ETA: I did OFA thyroid this past week on one of my dogs. $250 for the bloodwork, $70 for shipping, $15 for OFA. Thyroid panels aren't cheap, even if you're not registering it with OFA. I doubt its done often unless there's reason to suspect thyroid dysfunction.

tim3308

People rarely take a healthy dog to a vet for more than annual shots. Who would do a thyroid panel on a healthy dog unless they were planning to breed?

To borrow a line oft used on Apple message board - when former windows users come to the site when they have an issue - they often comment somewhat like, "Wow, I thought Mac hardware was better built and Macs didn't have problems like w/ PC's, etc.".
The seasoned response: "You wouldn't go to a hospital to perceive the health of the human race, would you? This is a site for when Macs do have problems, so keep in mind where you are."

So, I see the parallel.

Thanks for all the responses, everyone. "70%", not in context per se, does seem akin to "sky is falling" stuff. I feel better informed. Thank you!

ayk

@PoetikDragon - Yikes! I thought my local vet was expensive. The local vet is 269.80. What they did is that they sent it to their regular lab, and they made arrangements for their regular lab to send it on to Michigan.

The Filmore vet is $190. The mobile vet that goes to AKC shows is now $142.

zandrame

@PoetikDragon, that price seems high.

If I'm remembering right, you might be close enough to Hemopet in Garden Grove to just walk in and do it there, or drop off and not pay shipping. When I shipped from San Diego, in the smallest/cheapest USPS priority flat rate box, it got there next day. (Not for OFA, but when doing blood tests on Kouda, we've had the vet draw extra and ship it to Dr Dodds for thyroid analysis.)

PoetikDragon

It's possible that the shipping cost included also sending x-rays which I had done at the same time. (Oddly enough I saved about $120 on x-rays vs going to Small Animal Hospital in Riverside, so, in the end it worked out. Plus I didn't have to go to Riverside.)

shibamistress

Ok I got some information to counter this. Here is the page that lists stats on Akita thyroid results for OFA. Granted, not everyone registers their dogs' thyroid results, so it only shows part of the picture, but you'll see that at least for dogs that had their results listed, the numbers were NOT 70%.

http://www.offa.org/stats_thy.html

tim3308

the numbers were NOT 70%.

Neither is the English Setter (wow, near 50%). Good find @shibamistress.

PoetikDragon

Thanks for the link!

curlytails

Some statistics also from the Michigan State University Endocrinology Center, which collects stats by breed as well:
http://www.animalhealth.msu.edu/Sections/Endocrinology/
http://www.animalhealth.msu.edu/Sections/Endocrinology/WEBCD.ENDO.REF.001.pdf

MSU's stats (up to 2005):
2673 Akita tested, 8.6% autoimmune thyroiditis, 8.2% equivocal

Putting them at #46 of potentially susceptible breeds.

lwroth

I'm sure the 70% quoted is incorrect; at one point some rescue people were saying it was 90%. Besides the OFA and MSU thyroid data, the Akita Club of America did a health survey of Akitas that could include any Akita, rescue or registered, ACA member owned or not. The health problems were self reported but participants may have been asked to provide vet confirmation. The survey was in the early 90s--I can't reach my copy right now. Not a high percentage of hypothyroid Akitas. There was a study of the thyroid gland in Akitas at UC Davis--whether ultrasound could be used to detect hypothyroidism--and I think only one Akita of a small but random sample was hypothyroid, as determined by multiple blood tests and by ultrasound. I've had about 25 Akitas and only one, a rescue who came in poor condition when she was about 10, was hypothyroid. Maybe 5 had sick euthyroid syndrome, where their thyroid levels were temporarily lowered due to non-thyroidal illnesses. Their thyroid levels came back to normal when their other illnesses resolved.

I wondered if Japanese Akitas might have lower normal levels than American Akitas. My 50/50 Akita was one of the 8.2% equivocals at MSU because her levels were below normal. She participated in the UC Davis study and was not considered hypothyroid even though her levels were low; her ultrasound showed a normal-sized gland. She lived to 14 with no symptoms of hypothyroidism.

Tamagou

While I cannot comment about the actual percentage of Hypothyroidism in akitas/akita inu, I had a beagle with this issue. It did not hinder his actual health or function and was required to take one pill a day to help keep his thyroid in check. It is the same medication given to humans for the same issue so if diagnosed you could order the medication online for a fraction of the price.

In saying that, they say the best thing to do if you are worried about thyroid issues in a dog is to make sure to keep their iodine levels healthy, which can include making sure iodine rich foods are available in their food (Some dog foods already provide things such as kelp in their foods) or if you are raw feeding to provide an amount of kelp suitable for the breed.

I know, totally off-topic, sorry! XD