Table 1.
Comparison of signalment, epidemiological data, and clinical scores of the dogs enrolled in the study.
| Variables | HC (n = 12) | IBD (n = 34) | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years; mean ± SD) | 5.31 ± 3.09 | 6.05 ± 3.47 | 0.519 |
| Sex (male/female) | 7/5 | 15/19 | 0.487 |
| Fertile status (spayed or neutered/entire) | 8/4 | 21/13 | 1.000 |
| Breed (pure/mixed) | 7/5 | 24/10 | 0.436 |
| Weight (kg); median [range]) | 13.85 [4.50–32.80] | 11.80 [2.30–44] | 0.763 |
| BCS (1–9); median [range]) | 5.50 [5–7] | 4.00 [2–7] | 0.001 * |
| Living with other pets (yes/no) | 7/5 | 10/24 | 0.093 |
| Habitat (indoor/50–50/outdoor) | 8/0/4 | 25/7/2 | 0.025 * |
| CIBDAI (median [range]) | 0 [0] | 6.5 [3–10] | <0.0001 * |
| CCECAI (median [range]) | 0 [0] | 7 [3–12] | <0.0001 * |
| Duodenal biopsies/fecal samples | 7/12 | 30/34 | na |
* p-value was significant when < 0.05; BCS, body condition score; CIBDAI, canine IBD activity index; CCECAI, canine chronic enteropathy clinical activity index; IBD, inflammatory bowel disease; duodenal biopsies and fecal samples refer to the total number of dogs from which the samples were retrieved for microbiota analysis; na, not applied.