Climate change impact on blood haemogram in the horse: a three-year preliminary study

Abstract

Introduction: The global climatic changes pose a substantial threat to the well-being and productivity of both humans and animals.

Methods: This study examined the impact of climate changes during different seasons over a 3-year monitoring period (2021-2023) on various blood parameters including, white blood cells (WBC), neutrophils, basophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes, hematocrit (HCT), hemoglobin (HGB), red blood cells (RBC), platelets (PLT), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH). The study focused on 25 Thoroughbred mares located in Kastamonu-Türkiye. Thermal and hygrometric parameters, including ambient temperature, relative humidity, and ventilation, were collected. Subsequently, Temperature-Humidity index (THI) was computed. Blood samples were collected on the first day of every month from January 2021 to December 2023 and used for a complete blood count analysis. Between 2021 and 2023, changes in environmental indicators were correlated to changes in hematological parameters.

Results: Two-way for repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant seasonal fluctuation (<0.0001) in ambient temperature, relative humidity, and THI. There was a reduction in RBC (<0.01), and MCH (<0.01) every year, HGB (<0.0001) in summer 2021, 2022 and in summer and autumn 2023. HCT (<0.0001), MCV (<0.01), showed decreasing values in autumn 2022 and 2023. MCHC values showed increasing values in July and August 2021, 2022 and in June 2023. WBC levels increased throughout the spring periods of 2021 and 2022. In April 2021, there were elevated levels of lymphocytes and monocytes (<0.0001) respectively.

Discussion: These findings could be helpful to promote the monitoring of physiological status both for the assessment of welfare status and for diagnostic purposes for the evaluation of possible disease outbreaks due to climate change in veterinary medicine.

Keywords: climate changes; haemogram; hematology; horses; seasonal variations.

Figure 1

Mean values ± standard deviation (±SD) of WBC, neutrophils, lymphocytes and monocytes obtained from a monthly monitoring of 25 horses during a 3-year (2021–2023) period considering the four seasons with monthly fluctuations of the max ambient temperature during the monitoring period. Significances among months (p < 0.05): ^a vs. April; ^b vs. June, ^c vs. March, ^d vs. August and ^e vs. December significances among years (p < 0.05): ^A vs. 2021; ^B vs. 2022.

Figure 2

Mean values ± standard deviation (±SD) of RBC, HGB, HCT, MCV, MCH, MCHC obtained from a monthly monitoring of 25 horses during a 3-year (2021–2023) period considering the four seasons with monthly fluctuations of the max ambient temperature during the monitoring period. Significances among months (p < 0.05): ^a vs. April; ^b vs. June, ^c vs. March, ^d vs. August and ^e vs. December, ^f vs. February, ^g vs. May, ^h vs. January, ^I vs. October, ^z vs. September and November, ^y vs. July and August, ^x vs. June and July, ^v vs. January, February, March, April, May, ^w vs. June, July, August, September, October, and November significances among years (p < 0.05): ^A vs. 2021; ^B vs. 2022.

Figure 3

Regression lines and Pearson correlation coefficient (r) between the monthly values of hematological parameters and 95% confidence interval for monthly mean max ambient temperature, chosen as a representative value, and relative humidity for all years.