Incidence of canine elbow dysplasia in South Africa

In South Africa, 1919 canine elbow dysplasia grading evaluations were performed from 1999-2006. Of these 1827 were evaluated by the senior author and form the basis of this article. Each report recorded the breed, age, sex, side affected and elbow dysplasia grading. The relationship between breed, age, sex, side affected, origin of radiographs and elbow dysplasia incidence was then analysed. Statistical evaluations were performed including means and standard deviations. The Rottweiler had the highest incidence of elbow dysplasia at 55 % followed by the Bullmastiff, Chow chow, Boerboel and Golden retriever, all of which had elbow dysplasia incidences of >38 %. Males were significantly more affected than females. The incidence of elbow dysplasia in the various breeds was compared with those of the Orthopaedic Foundation for Animals in the United States and was found to be much higher in South Africa.