{"topic_id":"FDA_DCM_recovery_patterns_and_breed_analysis","category":"dcm","context":"---\ntopic_id: FDA_DCM_recovery_patterns_and_breed_analysis\ncategory: dcm\ntitle: FDA DCM recovery patterns + breed distribution (KSU Forum 2020 deep slice)\nlang: en\nsource: FDA KSU Science Forum slides (2020-09-29), FDA Vet-LIRN Update\ndate_parsed: 2026-07-20\ntokens_estimated: 480\n---\n\nDetailed FDA Vet-LIRN analysis of **recovery diet patterns**\nand **dog breed distribution** in DCM cases. Extracted via\nTavily from the 2020 KSU Science Forum slides — provides\nmuch finer-grained detail than the consumer-facing Outbreaks\npage.\n\n## Group One: Fully and Partially Recovered Dogs (n = 107)\n\n23 dogs fully recovered + 84 partially recovered = 107 total.\n\n**Definitions used by FDA**:\n- **Grain-free**: food without wheat, corn, ancient grains\n  (spelt, quinoa), barley, rice, rice bran, or soy (soy is\n  a legume but grouped with grains for analysis).\n- **\"Peas top\"**: peas in the top 3-4 ingredients after\n  animal protein/meats (same for lentils).\n- **Pea fractions**: pea protein / pea fiber / pea starch /\n  pea flour (same for lentils).\n\n### Pre-diagnosis diet (n = 23 fully recovered)\n\n| Characteristic | % cases |\n|----------------|--------:|\n| Ate grain-free | **96%** |\n| Ate whole pulse ingredients | 96% |\n| Ate product with by-products | 0% |\n| Ate lamb meal + brown rice (1 case) | 4.5% |\n\n### Recovery phase diet\n\n| Characteristic | % cases |\n|----------------|--------:|\n| Ate grain-free | 4.5% (1 of 22) |\n| Ate whole pulse ingredients | 5% (1 of 21) |\n| Ate product with by-products | 38% |\n| Ate hydrolyzed protein diet | 3 cases (1 brewer's rice, 2 corn starch) |\n\n**Key insight**: When diet changed to grain-containing +\nby-product-based + non-pulse, recovery occurred. 96% of the\nfully recovered group switched from grain-free to\ngrain-containing in the recovery phase.\n\n### Signalment (n = 107)\n\n| Group | Mean Age (yrs) | Mean Weight (lbs) | Sex |\n|-------|---------------:|------------------:|-----|\n| Fully Recovered (n=23) | 6.4 | 62 | 52.4% F / 47.6% M |\n| Partially Recovered (n=84) | 6.4 | 62 | 52.4% F / 47.6% M |\n\n## Breed distribution (Group One, n = 107 fully + partial)\n\nMost common breeds in DCM case group:\n1. **Golden Retriever** (ties most common)\n2. **Mixed-breed dogs** (ties most common)\n3. Labrador Retriever\n4. Doberman Pinscher\n5. Basset Hound\n6. French Bulldog\n7. Pomeranian\n8. Other large + small breeds (diverse)\n\nNote: Many breeds listed are in the AKC top 10 breeds of 2019\n(marked with * in original slides), suggesting popular breeds\nare over-represented simply due to breed popularity, not\ngenetic predisposition alone.\n\n## LV Hypokinesis Cases (n = 30) — separate analysis\n\nDogs with LV hypokinesis (not full DCM): 30 total\n(20 fully recovered + 10 partial).\n\n### Pre-diagnosis diet (n = 30)\n\n| Characteristic | % products |\n|----------------|-----------:|\n| Grain-free | **73%** |\n| Had peas, whole peas, or peas/lentils in top | 80% |\n| Had by-products | 0% |\n\nNote: 73% is **lower** than the Outbreaks page 91% — this is\na sub-sample (LV hypokinesis subset, not all DCM cases) and\nuses different window.\n\n### Recovery diet (n = 30)\n\n| Characteristic | % products |\n|----------------|-----------:|\n| Grain-containing | 87% |\n| Peas or pea fractions | 7% (none whole) |\n| Sweet potato/potato | 7% |\n| By-products | 53% |\n| Chicken/chicken meal | common |\n\n### LV Hypokinesis (n = 10) — case-based\n\n| Diet type | Before diagnosis | Recovery |\n|-----------|----------------:|---------:|\n| Grain-free | 8/10 (80%) | 1/9 (11%) |\n| Grain-containing | 2/10 (20%) | 8/9 (89%) |\n| Whole pulses | 10/10 (100%) | 0/9 (0%) |\n| Meat/poultry by-products | 0/10 (0%) | 7/9 (78%) |\n\n**Key**: 100% of LV Hypokinesis cases had whole pulses\nbefore diagnosis; **0%** had whole pulses during recovery.\nThis is the strongest dietary signal in the entire dataset.\n\n## Product basis vs case basis\n\nFDA analyzed on both bases because some dogs ate > 1 diet:\n\n- **Product basis**: characteristics of each unique product\n  (e.g., 91% grain-free across all products in Outbreaks\n  page).\n- **Case basis**: characteristics of the dog's reported\n  diet(s) (e.g., 96% grain-free across cases in recovery\n  group).\n\nNumbers differ slightly between bases — FDA reports both.\n\n## Sufficient data cutoff\n\nSufficient data was available for **>92%** of products.\nProducts with missing label information were excluded\nproportionally.\n\n## Source\n\nExtracted via Tavily on 2026-07-20 from\n`ksvdl.org/resources/documents/dcm-forum/FDA_KSU-Science-Forum-slides_09-29-2020.pdf`\n(2020-09-29 forum hosted by Kansas State University; FDA\nCVM presented). Data on Group One n=107 recovery cases.\n\nRelated topics:\n- `FDA_DCM_investigation_timeline_2014_2024` (overview timeline)","sources":[],"tokens_estimated":480,"generated_at":null,"tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}