ArticlePloS one2015
Impact of Facial Conformation on Canine Health: Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome.
Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 113 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
113 citing papers in PubMed, 230 citations in OpenAlex.
- Congenital and Breed-Associated Vertebral Anomalies in Dogs and Cats: Developmental Anatomy, Genetic Determinants, and Biological Significance.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- 'Teleonomes in Tatters': The Welfare Costs of Selecting Dogs for Extreme Phenotypes, and the Case for Change.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Predictors of Postoperative Corneal Clarity After Corneal Reconstruction for Deep Corneal Ulcers and Perforations in Dogs.Veterinary ophthalmology · 2026Article
- Association of brachycephaly, sleep-disordered breathing, and inflammatory response in dogs.Journal of veterinary internal medicine · 2026Review
- Intranasal inflammatory polyps associated with brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome in a pug dog.The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne · 2026Article
- Postoperative Antibiotics Do Not Prevent Surgical Site Infections After Routine Ophthalmic Soft Tissue Surgeries in Dogs-A Retrospective Study.Veterinary ophthalmology · 2026Article
- Perianesthetic death in dogs and cats: a scoping review.Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc · 2026Article
- Beyond the Ocular Surface: Nasal Sensory Input as a Driver of Reflex Lacrimation in Dogs.Veterinary ophthalmology · 2026Article
- Quantitative genetic analysis of respiratory function and related traits in Bulldogs, French Bulldogs and Pugs.PloS one · 2026Article
- A solution right under our nose? Crossbreeding extreme brachycephalic dogs results in better health outcomes while preserving behavioural profiles and dog-owner relationship quality.Animal welfare (South Mimms, England) · 2026Article
- Article
- A cross-sectional study into the prevalence and conformational risk factors of BOAS across fourteen brachycephalic dog breeds.PloS one · 2026Article
- Timing-controlled concept for extubation in brachycephalic dogs: α2-bridged on-demand extubation.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2026Review
- Article
- Response to Two Standardized Exercise Tests in Dogs with Different Cephalic Biotypes.Veterinary sciences · 2025Article
- Health status and disease prevalences in French bulldogs in Germany: insights from a survey-based study.Companion animal health and genetics · 2025Article
- Selective attraction to shorter muzzles in dogs is a hidden driver of the brachycephalic welfare crisis.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Beauty versus the beast: The UK public prefers less-extreme body shapes in brachycephalic dog breeds.The Veterinary record · 2025Article
- Effects of Canthoplasty in Preventing Secondary Ocular Surface Lesions in Brachycephalic Dogs.Veterinary sciences · 2025Article
- Owner Awareness, Motivation and Ethical Considerations in the Choice of Brachycephalic Breeds: Evidence from an Italian Veterinary Teaching Hospital Survey.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
53 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The domestic dog may be the most morphologically diverse terrestrial mammalian species known to man; pedigree dogs are artificially selected for extreme aesthetics dictated by formal Breed Standards, and breed-related disorders linked to conformation are ubiquitous and diverse. Brachycephaly--foreshortening of the facial skeleton--is a discrete mutation that has been selected for in many popular dog breeds e.g. the Bulldog, Pug, and French Bulldog. A chronic, debilitating respiratory syndrome, whereby soft tissue blocks the airways, predominantly affects dogs with this conformation, and thus is labelled Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS). Despite the name of the syndrome, scientific evidence quantitatively linking brachycephaly with BOAS is lacking, but it could aid efforts to select for healthier conformations. Here we show, in (1) an exploratory study of 700 dogs of diverse breeds and conformations, and (2) a confirmatory study of 154 brachycephalic dogs, that BOAS risk increases sharply in a non-linear manner as relative muzzle length shortens. BOAS only occurred in dogs whose muzzles comprised less than half their cranial lengths. Thicker neck girths also increased BOAS risk in both populations: a risk factor for human sleep apnoea and not previously realised in dogs; and obesity was found to further increase BOAS risk. This study provides evidence that breeding for brachycephaly leads to an increased risk of BOAS in dogs, with risk increasing as the morphology becomes more exaggerated. As such, dog breeders and buyers should be aware of this risk when selecting dogs, and breeding organisations should actively discourage exaggeration of this high-risk conformation in breed standards and the show ring.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.