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Unravelling the temporal association between lameness and body condition score in dairy cattle using a multistate modelling approach

Lim PY, Huxley JN, Willshire JA, Green MJ, Othman AR, Kaler J

Prev Vet Med, 2015 Mar 1;118(4):370-7.
PMID: 25579605 DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2014.12.015

Recent studies have reported associations between lameness and body condition score (BCS) in dairy cattle, however the impact of change in the dynamics of BCS on both lameness occurrence and recovery is currently unknown. The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate the effect of change in BCS on the transitions from the non-lame to lame, and lame to non-lame states. A total of 731 cows with 6889 observations from 4 UK herds were included in the study. Mobility score (MS) and body condition score (BCS) were recorded every 13-15 days from July 2010 until December 2011. A multilevel multistate discrete time event history model was built to investigate the transition of lameness over time. There were 1042 non-lame episodes and 593 lame episodes of which 50% (519/1042) of the non-lame episodes transitioned to the lame state and 81% (483/593) of the lame episodes ended with a transition to the non-lame state. Cows with a lower BCS at calving (BCS Group 1 (1.00-1.75) and Group 2 (2.00-2.25)) had a higher probability of transition from non-lame to lame and a lower probability of transition from lame to non-lame compared to cows with BCS 2.50-2.75, i.e. they were more likely to become lame and if lame, they were less likely to recover. Similarly, cows who suffered a greater decrease in BCS (compared to their BCS at calving) had a higher probability of becoming lame and a lower probability of recovering in the next 15 days. An increase in BCS from calving was associated with the converse effect, i.e. a lower probability of cows moving from the non-lame to the lame state and higher probability of transition from lame to non-lame. Days in lactation, quarters of calving and parity were associated with both lame and non-lame transitions and there was evidence of heterogeneity among cows in lameness occurrence and recovery. This study suggests loss of BCS and increase of BCS could influence the risk of becoming lame and the chance of recovery from lameness. Regular monitoring and maintenance of BCS on farms could be a key tool for reducing lameness. Further work is urgently needed in this area to allow a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms behind these relationships.
Area of hock hair loss in dairy cows: risk factors and correlation with a categorical scale

Lim PY, Huxley JN, Green MJ, Othman AR, Potterton SL, Brignell CJ, et al.

Vet J, 2015 Feb;203(2):205-10.
PMID: 25577022 DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2014.11.005

Data from 3691 dairy cows from 76 farms were used to investigate the risk factors associated with the area of hair loss over the lateral aspect of the hock and the correlation between the area of hair loss (as calculated using a hock map) and hock lesion scores determined using a pre-existing categorical scale. Six factors were associated with a greater area of hair loss, including cows with locomotion score 3, a cleanliness score (10/28 to 18/28), high daily milk yield (25.1-58.1 kg), poor body condition score (1-1.5), duration of winter housing (≥41 days) and some combinations of cubicle base and bedding materials. Compared with cows housed in cubicles with a concrete base and whole straw or rape straw bedding, cows housed in cubicles with concrete bases with sand or chopped straw bedding had smaller areas of hair loss and cows housed on a mattress base with whole straw or rape straw bedding had larger areas of hair loss. Area of hair loss, as measured on hock maps, was not significantly different between cows with score 1 (median 23.6 cm(2)) and score 2 (median 20.3 cm(2)) on the categorical scale for hock lesions. This suggests that the categorical scale was not reflecting the extent of hair loss and that hock maps are a good alternative for studying the dynamics of hock lesions over time.
Fulltext Dissecting the Shared Genetic Architecture of Suicide Attempt, Psychiatric Disorders, and Known Risk Factors

Mullins N, Kang J, Campos AI, Coleman JRI, Edwards AC, Galfalvy H, et al.

Biol Psychiatry, 2022 Feb 01;91(3):313-327.
PMID: 34861974 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2021.05.029

BACKGROUND: Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide, and nonfatal suicide attempts, which occur far more frequently, are a major source of disability and social and economic burden. Both have substantial genetic etiology, which is partially shared and partially distinct from that of related psychiatric disorders.
METHODS: We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 29,782 suicide attempt (SA) cases and 519,961 controls in the International Suicide Genetics Consortium (ISGC). The GWAS of SA was conditioned on psychiatric disorders using GWAS summary statistics via multitrait-based conditional and joint analysis, to remove genetic effects on SA mediated by psychiatric disorders. We investigated the shared and divergent genetic architectures of SA, psychiatric disorders, and other known risk factors.
RESULTS: Two loci reached genome-wide significance for SA: the major histocompatibility complex and an intergenic locus on chromosome 7, the latter of which remained associated with SA after conditioning on psychiatric disorders and replicated in an independent cohort from the Million Veteran Program. This locus has been implicated in risk-taking behavior, smoking, and insomnia. SA showed strong genetic correlation with psychiatric disorders, particularly major depression, and also with smoking, pain, risk-taking behavior, sleep disturbances, lower educational attainment, reproductive traits, lower socioeconomic status, and poorer general health. After conditioning on psychiatric disorders, the genetic correlations between SA and psychiatric disorders decreased, whereas those with nonpsychiatric traits remained largely unchanged.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results identify a risk locus that contributes more strongly to SA than other phenotypes and suggest a shared underlying biology between SA and known risk factors that is not mediated by psychiatric disorders.

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