Impact of Facial Conformation on Canine Health: Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome.
Impact of Facial Conformation on Canine Health: Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome.
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DOI：
10.1371/journal.pone.0137496
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发表时间：
2015
期刊：
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Burn CC
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Packer RM;Hendricks A;Tivers MS;Burn CC
家犬可能是人类已知的形态最多样的陆生哺乳动物；纯种狗是由正式的品种标准人为选择的极端美学，与品种相关的构象疾病无处不在，种类繁多。头短——面部骨骼的缩短——是一种离散的突变，在许多流行的狗品种中都有选择，例如斗牛犬，巴哥犬和法国斗牛犬。这是一种慢性的、使人衰弱的呼吸系统综合症，软组织阻塞气道，主要影响这种构象的狗，因此被称为短头性阻塞性气道综合征（BOAS）。尽管该综合征的名称，缺乏科学证据定量地将短头畸形与BOAS联系起来，但它可以帮助选择更健康的构象。我们在(1)对700只不同品种和形态的狗进行了探索性研究，(2)对154只短头犬进行了验证性研究，结果表明，随着相对口鼻长度的缩短，BOAS风险呈非线性急剧增加。BOAS只发生在口部长度小于头盖骨长度一半的狗身上。较粗的颈围也增加了这两种人群的BOAS风险：这是人类睡眠呼吸暂停的风险因素，以前在狗身上没有发现；肥胖进一步增加了患BOAS的风险。本研究提供的证据表明，短头畸形的繁殖导致狗患BOAS的风险增加，并且随着形态变得更加夸张，风险也会增加。因此，繁育者和买家在选择狗的时候应该意识到这种风险，繁育组织应该积极阻止在品种标准和赛场上夸大这种高风险的符合。
The domestic dog may be the most morphologically diverse terrestrial mammalian species known to man; pedigree dogs are artificially selected for extreme aesthetics dictated by formal Breed Standards, and breed-related disorders linked to conformation are ubiquitous and diverse. Brachycephaly–foreshortening of the facial skeleton–is a discrete mutation that has been selected for in many popular dog breeds e.g. the Bulldog, Pug, and French Bulldog. A chronic, debilitating respiratory syndrome, whereby soft tissue blocks the airways, predominantly affects dogs with this conformation, and thus is labelled Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS). Despite the name of the syndrome, scientific evidence quantitatively linking brachycephaly with BOAS is lacking, but it could aid efforts to select for healthier conformations. Here we show, in (1) an exploratory study of 700 dogs of diverse breeds and conformations, and (2) a confirmatory study of 154 brachycephalic dogs, that BOAS risk increases sharply in a non-linear manner as relative muzzle length shortens. BOAS only occurred in dogs whose muzzles comprised less than half their cranial lengths. Thicker neck girths also increased BOAS risk in both populations: a risk factor for human sleep apnoea and not previously realised in dogs; and obesity was found to further increase BOAS risk. This study provides evidence that breeding for brachycephaly leads to an increased risk of BOAS in dogs, with risk increasing as the morphology becomes more exaggerated. As such, dog breeders and buyers should be aware of this risk when selecting dogs, and breeding organisations should actively discourage exaggeration of this high-risk conformation in breed standards and the show ring.