January 4, 2013
As an epidemiologist, I?ve repeatedly noticed that veterinarians seem to have sicker cats than other cat owners. My first hypothesis on why this might be was that veterinarians are attracted to pets with health issues; however, that hypothesis was quickly rejected as I watched more and more colleagues adopt apparently healthy kittens and adult cats.
It wasn?t until I had worked at Banfield Pet Hospital that my hypothesis generation ceased. In coming to fully appreciate the benefit of routine veterinary visits, even for seemingly healthy pets, I came to see that other people?s pets are just as vulnerable to illness as veterinarian?s pets. It?s just that veterinarians have been educated to notice clinical signs of illness, whereas most pet owners haven?t. Indeed, in epidemiology there?s a term for this phenomenon: detection bias.
Detection bias can occur in studies when one group of subjects gets scrutinized more closely than another group, making it seem like the outcome (such as disease) is more common in that group. This type of bias can explain why pets that visit the veterinarian more often than others might appear sicker?the pets that don?t get taken to a doctor suffer in silence.
From the first year of veterinary school, students learn about common signs of illness in pets that are less obvious than vomiting, diarrhea and sneezing, such as polyuria (frequent urination), polydipsia (drinking a lot), lethargy, bad breath, anorexia and weight gain or loss. And we take this information home with us, over-diagnosing our healthy pets with various?often rare?maladies until our hypervigilance becomes tempered with a deeper understanding of the diagnostic process.
With more experience, we learn to respect pet owners when they say a pet is ?not acting herself? and to ask for more specific signs that something is wrong. After all, who better to notice a pet isn?t feeling well than the owner? Which brings me to this point: Public education campaigns for disease self-detection are commonplace in human medicine. Through such campaigns, I?ve come to recognize the symptoms of diseases like diabetes mellitus or depression and warning signs of life-threatening events such as heart attack or stroke. Although disparities can exist in campaign effectiveness depending on the audience?s race/ethnicity, sex, and level of education,1 these messages are teaching us humans what we need to know to have longer, healthier lives. In doing so, they are empowering us to take the driver?s seat in our own healthcare?to become engaged.
So who is campaigning on the pets? behalf so they can share our longer lives? Polls repeatedly show that owners consider their pets part of the family,2,3 yet the lack of campaigns on the warning signs of disease in dogs and cats persists. I want to turn on my television or open my magazine to see a memorable message on signs that a pet is ill?one that isn?t trying to sell me specific products. This is just one reason the American Veterinary Medical Association?s Partners for Healthy Pets campaign4 is so important. Its strategy includes engagement and empowerment of owners in their pets? healthcare. Let?s hope it also includes a substantial investment in pet owner education about the clinical signs of disease so that 1) they can recognize when their pets might be ill and 2) they can bring these signs to the veterinarian?s attention when care is sought rather than relying on the veterinarian to ask the right questions. In doing so, we?ll be giving pets a voice that they might otherwise be lacking?one that loudly speaks for their well-being.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Disparities in Adult Awareness of Heart Attack Warning Signs and Symptoms?14 States, 2005. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rpt. 2008; 57(7):175-9.
- Negron V. Pets a vital part of the American family, petMD study finds. June 8, 2011.
- Petside Team. New poll reveals Americans often treat their pets like humans. June 22, 2009.
- AVMA. Partners for Healthy Pets.
About Sandi Lefebvre, DVM, PhD
Sandi Lefebvre earned her veterinary degree from the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph in 2003 and a doctorate's in Epidemiology from the same school in 2007. A charter member of the Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine Association and former assistant editor of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Sandi joined the BARK team as an associate medical advisor/research in February 2011. She shares her computer keyboard and heart with two sassy shelter cats. View all posts by Sandi Lefebvre, DVM, PhD ? ? Checklist for Missing PetsShare this.
Source: http://waggingtail.banfield.net/2013/01/04/empowering-pet-owners-to-detect-disease/
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