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Hyperthyroidism is the most common endocrine disease in middle-aged to older cats.1 and occurs when the thyroid gland produces too many hormones. This leads to symptoms such as weight loss despite eating more, vomiting, hyperactivity, increased urination and alcohol consumption, diarrhea, breathing problems and coat changes.two These symptoms can greatly affect a cat’s quality of life (QoL), as well as create more stress for both the cat and the owner. Researchers in a new study published in Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine,3 observed a lack of tools to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in cats suffering from hyperthyroidism. The study aimed to measure HRQoL and owner impact.
The assessment under study included 28 questions related to the HRQoL of cats with hyperthyroidism and the influence that the cat’s disease may have on owners was created. The researchers initially showed their first set of questions to a group of 11 veterinarians who work with hyperthyroidism, some in general practice and others in specialized referral hospitals (3 graduates from an EBVS-accredited college, 2 primary care veterinarians, 6 internal medicine working in reference practices).3 This was structured to obtain feedback from these veterinarians on the questions included in the questionnaire. Each question was composed of 2 subquestions: (1) “how often does the item apply”; (2) “how strongly the item affects HRQoL”.
The assessment was then made available online to owners of cats with hyperthyroidism or other diseases, as well as cats without known diseases (there were no exclusion criteria for eligible cats). Subsequently, the researchers divided the responses into 2 groups, the HT group (cats with hyperthyroidism) and the NHT group (cats without hyperthyroidism).
Questions related to owners ranged from how their cat’s health or illnesses impact their daily life to the emotional, physical and financial burdens they take on as a result. The cat-related questions focused more on the potential symptoms the animals were experiencing and also on the cat’s mood and behavior.
There were 551 valid responses to the questionnaire, of which 229 (41.6%) were from owners of cats in the HT group and 322 (58.4%) from owners of cats in the NHT group. HT group responders had a mean cat age of 14 years. The final HRQOL instrument produced a score between 0 and 382, with zero being the best possible HRQOL and 382 being the worst. The median HRQoL score for the HT group was 87.5 points and was significantly higher than that in the NHT group, at 27 points. The researchers also concluded that owners of cats in the NHT group generally rated their cats’ quality of life better than owners of cats in the HT group.3
After analyzing the responses, the researchers decided to remove 3 questions that had repetitive results, as they were phrased very similarly. This reduced the final HRQoL assessment to a 25-question tool.3 The researchers also concluded that hypothyroidism negatively affects a cat’s quality of life and the owners’ lives are affected by indirect suffering.
The researchers hope that this QoL-cat hyperthyroidism tool can be easily used by professionals as a take-home survey for the owner. It can be completed online, as was done in this study, or printed on paper for the owner to complete.
References
- McLean JL, Lobetti RG, Schoeman JP. Worldwide prevalence and risk factors for feline hyperthyroidism: a review. JS Afr Veterinary Association. 2014; 85: 1-6.
- Khare DS, Khare R, Gupta DK, et al. Feline hyperthyroidism: an overview. J Entomol Zool Stud. 2018; 6: 418-423.
- Blunschi F, Schofield I, Muthmann S, Bauer NB, Hazuchova K. Development and validation of a questionnaire to assess health-related quality of life in cats with hyperthyroidism. J Vet Medical Intern. Published online April 22, 2024. doi:10.1111/jvim.17083
