{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,29]],"date-time":"2026-08-29T21:04:00Z","timestamp":1788037440987,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,15]],"date-time":"2025-05-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1747267200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"University of Life Sciences \u201cRegele Mihai 1\u201d"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Veterinary Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Eye disease in dogs is a common problem that can affect both the health and well-being of the animals. The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence and incidence of the most common eye diseases in a large population of dogs from two stray dog centers in northwestern Romania over a two-year period.We conducted a retrospective observational study of 208 eye diseases in two dog shelters in northwestern Romania: the \u201cHam Ham\u201d Association and the \u201cFree Life\u201d Association in Satu Mare County. The study spanned from January 2022 to December 2023. We collected data on eye disease status from a total of 2293 dogs. The dogs were categorized into three age groups: young dogs (under 2 years), adult dogs (2 to 7 years), and senior dogs (over 7 years). Additionally, the dogs were grouped by sterilization status and gender. The statistical analysis was performed using Pearson\u2019s chi-squared test, Student\u2019s t-test, and binary logistic regression. The prevalence of ocular diseases in this study was 9.07%, with 208 out of 2293 dogs diagnosed with eye problems. The most common ocular diseases observed were conjunctivitis (58\/208 or 27.9%), eyelid issues (50\/208 or 24%), cataracts (40\/208 or 19.2%), glaucoma (13\/208 or 6.3%), keratopathies (10\/208 or 4.8%), traumatic eye injuries (10\/208 or 4.8%), foreign bodies (7\/208 or 3.4%), blepharitis (5\/208 or 2.4%), proptosis (3\/208 or 1.4%), progressive retinal atrophy ((3\/208 or 1.4%), retinal detachment ((3\/208 or 1.4%), and dry eye (2\/208 or 1%). Among the three age groups, puppies and young dogs (under 2 years) were the most affected, with a punctual prevalence of 50.96% at the \u201cFree Life\u201d center and 65.51% at the \u201cHam Ham\u201d center. Compared with older dogs, the younger dogs were 4.91 times more likely to develop conjunctivitis (OR = 4.91, p = 0.001), 9.38 times more likely to develop eyelid problems (OR = 9.38, p &lt; 0.000), and 0.31 times less likely to develop cataracts (OR = 0.31, p = 0.019).Our epidemiological study found that eye diseases are common among shelter dogs, with incidence rates (new cases over a specific period) varying by age. The youngest and oldest dogs were the most affected, with the highest prevalence observed in the youngest group. The study also highlighted the significant impact of factors such as the shelter center (p &lt; 0.000), age (p &lt; 0.000), and sterilization status (p &lt; 0.000) on the prevalence of eye disorders. These findings underscore the need for enhanced awareness about eye diseases and their risk factors to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/vetsci12050480","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,15]],"date-time":"2025-05-15T09:58:27Z","timestamp":1747303107000},"page":"480","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Epidemiological Studies on Eye Diseases in Centers for Stray Dogs in Northwestern Romania"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Elena","family":"Bonea","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Horia Cernescu Research Unit\u2014Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences \u201cRegele Mihai I\u201d, Calea Aradului 119, 300645 Timisoara, Romania"},{"name":"S.C. Mobovet SRL Veterinary Clinic, 3th Ceahlaului Street, 440043 SatuMare, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cornel Dionisie","family":"Igna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Horia Cernescu Research Unit\u2014Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences \u201cRegele Mihai I\u201d, Calea Aradului 119, 300645 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Monica","family":"Ocnean","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Management and Rural Turism, University of Life Sciences \u201cRegele Mihai I\u201d, Calea Aradului 119, 300645 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7664-4302","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bianca Cornelia","family":"Lungu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Horia Cernescu Research Unit\u2014Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences \u201cRegele Mihai I\u201d, Calea Aradului 119, 300645 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0594-2852","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ioan","family":"Hutu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Horia Cernescu Research Unit\u2014Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences \u201cRegele Mihai I\u201d, Calea Aradului 119, 300645 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"221","DOI":"10.12681\/jhvms.15262","article-title":"Ophthalmic examination in dogs and cats. 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