Table 1. Variable characteristics and their distribution within study cases, controls and the total study population.
| N. | Covariates | Categories | Canine atopic dermatitis %(n) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cases, % (n = 406) | Controls, % (n = 1830) | Total,% (n = 2236) | |||
| Prenatal period | |||||
| 1 | Maternal history of CAD | Non-atopic mothers | 80.1 (113) | 97.8 (881) | 95.4 (994) |
| Atopic mothers | 19.9 (28) | 2.2 (20) | 4.6 (48) | ||
| 2 | Dog breed | Non-allergy prone breeds | 40.2 (137) | 65.4 (952) | 60.6 (1089) |
| Allergy prone breeds | 59.8 (204) | 34.6 (503) | 39.4 (707) | ||
| 3 | Dog gender | Male | 49.4 (195) | 42.9 (765) | 44.1(960) |
| Female | 50.6 (200) | 57.1 (1017) | 55.9 (1217) | ||
| 4 | Dog color | White >90% | 12.9 (49) | 7.9 (136) | 8.8 (185) |
| White >50% | 14.5 (55) | 10.7 (184) | 11.4 (239) | ||
| Less white | 21.1 (80) | 26.8 (461) | 25.8 (541) | ||
| Little or no white | 51.5 (195) | 54.5 (936) | 54.0 (1131) | ||
| 5 | Mother’s diet during pregnancy | NPMB | 3.9 (10) | 8.3 (94) | 7.5 (104) |
| UPCD | 96.1 (244) | 91.7 (1041) | 92.5 (1285) | ||
| 6 | Was the mother dewormed during pregnancy? | Yes | 94.8 (221) | 97.7 (1135) | 97.2 (1356) |
| No | 5.2 (12) | 2.3 (27) | 2.8 (39) | ||
| 7 | Was mother vaccinated during pregnancy? | Yes | 50.4 (63) | 48.5 (329) | 48.8 (392) |
| No | 49.6 (62) | 51.5 (349) | 51.2 (411) | ||
| Neonatal period | |||||
| 8 | Mother’s diet during lactation | NPMB | 5.4 (13) | 7.9 (86) | 7.4 (99) |
| UPCD | 94.6 (227) | 92.1 (1004) | 92.6 (1231) | ||
| 9 | Season of birth | Winter (Dec-Feb) | 26.5 (106) | 25.5 (460) | 25.7 (566) |
| Spring (March-May) | 33.3 (133) | 32.0 (576) | 32.2 (709) | ||
| Summer (June-Aug) | 21.3 (85) | 23.4 (422) | 23.0 (507) | ||
| Autumn (Sept-Nov) | 19.0 (76) | 19.1 (344) | 19.1 (420) | ||
| Early postnatal period | |||||
| 10 | Puppy’s first solid diet | NPMD | 3.3 (8) | 8.8 (99) | 7.9 (107) |
| UPCD | 96.7 (233) | 91.2 (1020) | 92.1 (1253) | ||
| 11 | Frequency of outdoor activity | Many times / day | 51.1 (157) | 60.0 (843) | 58.4 (1000) |
| Once / day | 16.6 (51) | 15.3 (215) | 15.5 (266) | ||
| A few times / week | 12.1 (37) | 12.2 (172) | 12.2 (209) | ||
| A few times / month | 9.1 (28) | 4.2 (59) | 5.1 (87) | ||
| Not at all | 11.1 (34) | 8.3 (117) | 8.8 (151) | ||
| 12 | Sunlight exposure, hours / day | Not at all | 20.9 (44) | 14.2 (143) | 15.4 (187) |
| ≥ 1 hour | 79.1 (167) | 85.8 (861) | 84.6 (1028) | ||
| 13 | Type of flooring | Dirt / lawn floor | 5.3 (17) | 7.0 (102) | 6.7 (119) |
| Non-dirt / lawn floor | 94.7 (301) | 93.0 (1355) | 93.3 (1656) | ||
| 14 | Body condition score | Overweight puppies | 17.1 (60) | 13.8 (213) | 14.5 (273) |
| Normal weight puppies | 72.0 (252) | 77.2 (1188) | 76.3 (1440) | ||
| Underweight puppies | 10.9 (38) | 8.9 (137) | 9.3 (175) | ||
| Late postnatal period | |||||
| 15 | Puppy diet | NPMD | 16.7 (41) | 23.7 (247) | 22.4 (288) |
| UPCD | 83.3 (205) | 76.3 (794) | 77.6 (999) | ||
| 16 | Was the dog born into the same human family as where it stayed as adult? | No | 97.3 (395) | 90.4 (1654) | 91.6 (2049) |
| Yes | 2.7 (11) | 9.6 (176) | 8.4 (187) | ||
| 17 | Outdoor activity, hours / day | < 0.5 | 2.4 (8) | 2.3 (35) | 2.3 (43) |
| 0.5–1.0 | 32.3 (108) | 26.1 (397) | 27.3 (505) | ||
| 1.0–2.0 | 50.6 (169) | 51 (775) | 50.9 (944) | ||
| > 2.0 | 14.7 (49) | 20.5 (312) | 19.5 (361) | ||
| 18 | Sunlight exposure, hours / day | ≤ 1 | 30.8 (95) | 25.5 (348) | 26.5 (443) |
| > 1 | 69.2 (213) | 74.5 (1018) | 73.5 (1231) | ||
| 19 | Type of flooring | Dirt / lawn | 7.1 (29) | 11.8 (216) | 11.0 (245) |
| Non-dirt / lawn | 92.9 (377) | 88.2 (1614) | 89.0 (1991) | ||
| 20 | Body condition score | Overweight puppies | 6.3 (22) | 6.0 (95) | 6.1 (117) |
| Normal weight puppies | 67.6 (236) | 68.5 (1083) | 68.3 (1319) | ||
| Underweight puppies | 26.1 (91) | 25.5 (403) | 25.6 (494) | ||
| 21 | Was the puppy vaccinated 2–4 times under 1 year of age? | Yes | 99.3 (400) | 99.1 (1786) | 99.1 (2186) |
| No | 0.7 (3) | 0.9 (16) | 0.9 (19) | ||
| 22 | Was the puppy dewormed 2–10 times under 1 year of age? | Yes | 98.7 (387) | 99.3 (1760) | 99.2 (2147) |
| No | 1.3 (5) | 0.7 (12) | 0.8 (17) | ||
(n): number of dogs, CAD: canine atopic dermatitis, NPMD: non-processed meat based diet, UPCD: ultra-processed carbohydrate based diet.