Nonesterified fatty acids during the dry period and their association with peripartum disorders, culling, and pregnancy in dairy cows

The objective of this ambidirectional observational cohort study was to explore how nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) 22 to 35 d before calving were related to NEFA 1 to 14 d before calving and to determine a threshold that could be used to identify cows at risk of poor postpartum health. We enrolled 855 dairy cows from 46 herds, 362 prospectively and 493 retrospectively. The NEFA concentrations were measured during the far-off period (foNEFA; 3 to 5 wk before calving) and in the close-up period (cuNEFA; up to 2 wk before calving), and postpartum infectious and metabolic disorders, reproduction success, and culling were recorded. Using a split dataset, we (1) determined a threshold maximizing the sum of sensitivity and specificity to identify peripartum conditions by classifying elevated NEFA and (2) assessed the associations between elevated NEFA and altered health and reproduction. The associations were expressed as the odds ratio (OR) and the 95% Bayesian credible interval (BCI). The concentration of foNEFA varied from 60 to 700 µmol/L (median = 149), and a threshold of ≥160 µmol/L was identified. Cows with elevated foNEFA had greater odds to have elevated cuNEFA (OR = 183, 95% BCI = 52.1–458), hyperketonemia (OR = 2.0, 95% BCI = 1.0–3.6), displaced abomasum (OR = 12.3, 95% BCI = 1.6–45.8), metritis (OR = 9.4, 95% BCI = 1.3–36.0), and clinical mastitis (OR = 5.8, 95% BCI = 1.9–12.1) than cows below the threshold. Our results suggest that foNEFA, using a threshold of ≥160 µmol/L, could be used by veterinarians as a monitoring or investigating tool to assess cows' negative energy balance before calving, even earlier than 2 wk prepartum. This monitoring could be used to implement early corrective actions to prevent the effect of negative energy balance on reproduction and peripartum health.