Abstract
The epidemiological characteristics of Cushing’s syndrome (CS) were derived from 21,281 client-owned dogs selected from 4 private veterinary clinics and 1 university reference centre for endocrinology. The odds ratio (OR) method was employed to investigate the risk of developing CS related to breed, gender and sexual status.
The estimated prevalence of CS in the 4 private clinics was 0.20% (95% CI, 0.13–0.27) and was significantly different compared to the university reference centre (1.46%; 95%CI, 1.12–1.80). Sex, breed and age resulted in risk factors for CS. Mean (±SD) age for dogs with CS was 9.8 (±2.5) years. Females had higher risk for CS compared to males (OR 1.85; 95%CI, 1.24–2.75); neutered dogs had higher risk than intact dogs (OR 2.54; 95%CI, 1.72–3.73); and neutered females had higher risk compared to intact females (OR 2.61; 95%CI, 1.54–4.42). Using the mixed breed dogs as a control population (OR=1), the risk of developing CS was significantly higher in the standard schnauzer (OR 58.1; p<0.0001) and fox terrier (OR 20.33; p<0.0001).
With regard to CS, this study identified an overall prevalence of 0.20%. The data support the existence of sex predisposition, with the highest risk for neutered females.

Key words: Hypercortisolism, Hyperadrenocorticism, PDH, cortisol,