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Review
. 2022 Sep 8;23(18):10384.
doi: 10.3390/ijms231810384.

A 2022 Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Enriched Therapeutic Diets and Nutraceuticals in Canine and Feline Osteoarthritis

Maude Barbeau-Grégoire  1 , Colombe Otis  1 , Antoine Cournoyer  1 , Maxim Moreau  1 , Bertrand Lussier  1   2 , Eric Troncy  1   2
Affiliations
Review

A 2022 Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Enriched Therapeutic Diets and Nutraceuticals in Canine and Feline Osteoarthritis

Maude Barbeau-Grégoire et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

With osteoarthritis being the most common degenerative disease in pet animals, a very broad panel of natural health products is available on the market for its management. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis, registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021279368), was to test for the evidence of clinical analgesia efficacy of fortified foods and nutraceuticals administered in dogs and cats affected by osteoarthritis. In four electronic bibliographic databases, 1578 publications were retrieved plus 20 additional publications from internal sources. Fifty-seven articles were included, comprising 72 trials divided into nine different categories of natural health compound. The efficacy assessment, associated to the level of quality of each trial, presented an evident clinical analgesic efficacy for omega-3-enriched diets, omega-3 supplements and cannabidiol (to a lesser degree). Our analyses showed a weak efficacy of collagen and a very marked non-effect of chondroitin-glucosamine nutraceuticals, which leads us to recommend that the latter products should no longer be recommended for pain management in canine and feline osteoarthritis.

Keywords: animal; enriched diets; methodological quality; metrological validation; nutraceuticals; osteoarthritis; pain; scientific evidence.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report having conducted work in canine osteoarthritis for the following companies: Biotanika, Inc; Boehringer-Ingelheim Animal Health, Inc; Centrexion Therapeutics, Corp; Ceva Santé Animale, S.A.; Elanco, Ltd.; Intervet, Corp; Merck Animal Health, Inc; Midwest Health Technologies, L.L.C.; Nestlé Purina Petcare, S.A.; Royal-Canin, Inc, a division of Mars Petcare; Vétoquinol, S.A.; Vita Green Health Products Co, Ltd.; and Zoetis, L.L.C.; many of which have led to publications that are included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The authors declare no conflict of interest directly related to the conduct of this review.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flowchart of publications on use of nutraceuticals and therapeutic diets in canine and feline OA.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of quality levels of compound categories 1 to 5. A high-quality trial is represented by levels A and B, while a mediocre-quality trial is represented by levels C and D. Ctg. 1 (omega-3-enriched therapeutic diets), ctg. 2 (omega-3-based nutraceuticals), ctg. 3 (collagen-based nutraceuticals), ctg. 4 (chondroitin-glucosamine-based nutraceuticals) and ctg. 5 (cannabinoid-based nutraceuticals). Ctg., category. * indicates a significant difference (p < 0.05) between categories.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of efficacy levels of compound categories 1 to 5. On the total number of trials included in each category, expressed are the percentages of trials classified as an analgesic effect (vs. a control group), an improvement over time of the treatment group or a non-effect of the treatment. Ctg. 1 (omega-3-enriched therapeutic diets), ctg. 2 (omega-3-based nutraceuticals), ctg. 3 (collagen-based nutraceuticals), ctg. 4 (chondroitin-glucosamine-based nutraceuticals) and ctg. 5 (cannabinoid-based nutraceuticals). Ctg., category.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Average score (with standard deviation) of efficacy weighed for the quality level of categories 1 to 5. Weighted average efficacy score is plotted along with standard deviation of the score for each category. Ctg. 1 (omega-3-enriched therapeutic diets), ctg. 2 (omega-3-based nutraceuticals), ctg. 3 (collagen-based nutraceuticals), ctg. 4 (chondroitin-glucosamine-based nutraceuticals) and ctg. 5 (cannabinoid-based nutraceuticals). Ctg., category. * indicates significant difference (p < 0.001) vs. other categories.
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