Development and validity of owner-based screening tools for canine cognitive decline

IF 2 2区农林科学 Q1 AGRICULTURE, DAIRY & ANIMAL SCIENCE

Applied Animal Behaviour Science Pub Date : 2025-09-22 DOI:10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106824

Honour Smith, Daniel S. Mills

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is a progressive, age-related neurodegenerative disorder of dogs diagnosed by exclusion of alternative causes of the non-specific behavioural signs. This study validated owner-friendly versions of instruments for the assessment of CCD based on: The Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Rating (CCDR), Canine Dementia Scale (CADES), and Age-Related Cognitive and Affective Disorders (ARCAD). While scale development focuses on maximising specificity, clinical tools need to balance this with sensitivity, considering the risks of false positives e.g. treating some subjects unnecessarily versus those related to false negatives e.g. not starting treatment.

The scales were adapted for greater owner-comprehensibility to create CCDRa, CADESa, ARCADa. 959 completions of CCDRa, CADESa and ARCADa were obtained via an online questionnaire. Two groups of respondents were created for analysis: dogs with an owner-declared veterinary diagnosis for CCD (CCD dogs) and those without an owner-declared veterinary diagnosis for CCD and being “very unlikely” to have CCD (Non-CCD dogs). Individual total scale scores were calculated to examine how these changed with age group.

Receiver Operating Curves and Youden’s Indices were used to identify the peak trade-off between sensitivity and specificity, alongside Positive Predictive Values (PPV) and Negative Predictive Values (NPV). These were used to create recommendations for screening value (SV) thresholds for each scale, for different categories of dog, namely: older dogs (seniors of unknown specific age) CCDRa ≥ 40, CADESa ≥ 25, and ARCADa ≥ 17; dogs aged 7 – 12 years old, CCDRa ≥ 40, CADESa ≥ 25, ARCADa ≥ 19; dogs aged 13 years old and above, CCDRa≥ 42, CADESa ≥ 25, ARCADa ≥ 21.

CCDRa and CADESa showed the greatest level of convergent validity, and ARCADa least convergence when using published thresholds (CCDR ≥ 50, CADES ≥45, ARCAD ≥ 31) or SV thresholds. Using published thresholds, only 64/103 (62 %) of CCD cases were identified by at least one of the scales, but this rose to 102/103 (99 %) when the revised SV thresholds were applied.

Given that CCD is an irreversible disease, early intervention is crucial for patient health and welfare. SV thresholds (in the absence of other potential medical explanations for the signs) represent a value at which we recommend veterinarians consider discussing with owners the value of intervention for CCD, including a quantified risk of false positives. Our adapted version of CADES (CADESa) performed best and allows monitoring of disease progression. Accordingly, CADESa is our preferred tool for the assessment and monitoring of CCD.

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犬类认知能力下降的主人筛选工具的开发与有效性

犬类认知功能障碍（CCD）是一种进行性、与年龄相关的犬类神经退行性疾病，通过排除非特异性行为体征的其他原因来诊断。本研究验证了基于犬认知功能障碍评分（CCDR）、犬痴呆量表（CADES）和年龄相关认知和情感障碍（ARCAD）的犬主友好版本的CCD评估工具。虽然量表开发的重点是最大化特异性，但临床工具需要平衡这一点与敏感性，考虑假阳性的风险，例如对某些受试者进行不必要的治疗，以及与假阴性相关的风险，例如不开始治疗。为了让业主更容易理解，设计了CCDRa、CADESa和ARCADa。通过在线问卷获得959份CCDRa、CADESa和ARCADa的填写情况。为了进行分析，我们创建了两组受访者：一组是主人宣布患有CCD的兽医诊断的狗（CCD犬），另一组是没有主人宣布患有CCD的兽医诊断并且“非常不可能”患有CCD的狗（非CCD犬）。计算个人总量表得分，以检查这些随年龄组的变化情况。使用受试者工作曲线和约登指数，以及阳性预测值（PPV）和阴性预测值（NPV）来确定敏感性和特异性之间的峰值权衡。这些数据用于为不同类别的狗创建每个量表的筛选值（SV）阈值建议，即：老年狗（特定年龄未知的老年人）CCDRa≥ 40,CADESa≥ 25,ARCADa≥ 17；7 ~ 12岁，CCDRa≥ 40,CADESa≥ 25,ARCADa≥ 19；13岁及以上犬，CCDRa≥ 42,CADESa≥ 25,ARCADa≥ 21。当使用已公布的阈值（CCDR≥50,CADES≥45,ARCAD≥31）或SV阈值时，CCDRa和cada的收敛效度最高，而ARCADa的收敛效度最低。使用已公布的阈值，只有64/103（62 %）的CCD病例被至少一个量表识别，但当应用修订的SV阈值时，这一比例上升到102/103（99 %）。鉴于CCD是一种不可逆转的疾病，早期干预对患者的健康和福利至关重要。SV阈值（在没有其他可能的医学解释的情况下）代表一个值，我们建议兽医考虑与饲主讨论CCD干预的价值，包括量化的假阳性风险。我们的改良版CADES （CADESa）表现最好，可以监测疾病进展。因此，CADESa是我们评估和监测CCD的首选工具。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Applied Animal Behaviour Science 农林科学-行为科学

CiteScore

4.40

自引率

21.70%

发文量

191

审稿时长

18.1 weeks

期刊介绍： This journal publishes relevant information on the behaviour of domesticated and utilized animals. Topics covered include: -Behaviour of farm, zoo and laboratory animals in relation to animal management and welfare -Behaviour of companion animals in relation to behavioural problems, for example, in relation to the training of dogs for different purposes, in relation to behavioural problems -Studies of the behaviour of wild animals when these studies are relevant from an applied perspective, for example in relation to wildlife management, pest management or nature conservation -Methodological studies within relevant fields The principal subjects are farm, companion and laboratory animals, including, of course, poultry. The journal also deals with the following animal subjects: -Those involved in any farming system, e.g. deer, rabbits and fur-bearing animals -Those in ANY form of confinement, e.g. zoos, safari parks and other forms of display -Feral animals, and any animal species which impinge on farming operations, e.g. as causes of loss or damage -Species used for hunting, recreation etc. may also be considered as acceptable subjects in some instances -Laboratory animals, if the material relates to their behavioural requirements