Diabetes mellitus is a common endocrinopathy of cats that is characterized by persistent\nfasting hyperglycemia. However, stress induces substantial hyperglycemia in cats that poses a\nchallenge to the veterinarian who may wrongly interpret the high serum concentration of blood\nglucose as evidence of diabetes mellitus. Fructosamine is a glycated serum protein that serves as\nan index of glycemic control in cats and is useful because it is not affected by stress hyperglycemia.\nHowever, factors such as body weight, hypoproteinemia, and increased serum thyroid hormone\nconcentration can alter fructosamine concentration. The goal of this retrospective study was\nto compare the fructosamine concentrations in diabetic and nondiabetic cats with and without\nuncontrolled hyperthyroidism. A secondary goal was to determine the effect of sex, age, different\npopulations of cats, and diabetes on the variability of fructosamine. We found that the mean (Ã?±SE)\nserum fructosamine of hyperthyroid diabetic cats (332 Ã?± 24 Ã?¼mol/L, 95% CI 291ââ?¬â??379 Ã?¼mol/L)\nwas within the population-based reference interval (200ââ?¬â??360 Ã?¼mol/L) and significantly lower in\ncomparison to euthyroid diabetic cats (527 Ã?± 10 Ã?¼mol/L, 95% CI 515ââ?¬â??553 Ã?¼mol/L). Additionally,\nin this study, diabetes accounted only for approximately 50% of the variance in serum fructosamine,\nwhile age, sex, and population made a minor contribution to this variance. In conclusion, finding\nserum fructosamine that is within the population-based reference interval in an uncontrolled diabetic\ncat should alert the veterinarian to the possibility of concurrent hyperthyroidism. Additionally,\nthe veterinary clinician should consider that serum fructosamine might be substantially affected by\nfactors other than diabetes.
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