The association of plasma glucose, BHBA, and NEFA with postpartum uterine diseases, fertility, and milk production of Holstein dairy cows

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the association between the metabolic indicators such as nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA), and glucose during the transition period and the development of uterine diseases. In total, 181 Holstein dairy cows were enrolled in the study. Plasma glucose, NEFA, and BHBA concentrations were measured at −50, −6, 3, 7, and 14 days relative to parturition. All cows enrolled in the study were evaluated for retained placenta (RP), metritis, and endometritis. Metritis and RP were diagnosed and treated by trained farm personnel. Clinical endometritis was evaluated by a veterinarian at 35 days in milk using a Metricheck device. We found plasma glucose concentration to be associated with the occurrence of metritis and clinical endometritis. Moreover, cows with an increased calving-to-conception interval (>150 days) presented higher plasma glucose concentrations than cows that became pregnant within the first 150 days, whereas BHBA and NEFA were not associated with the occurrence of any uterine disorder. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used in an attempt to determine the cow-level critical thresholds for the occurrence of metritis, and endometritis. In addition, pairwise comparisons of area under the curve (AUC) of ROC curves for the critical thresholds for glucose, BHBA, and NEFA predicting the same uterine disease were performed. Glucose at 3 days in milk was the best predictor for metritis and endometritis diagnosis, with AUC values of 0.66 and 0.67, respectively. Multivariable logistic regressions were performed and showed that cows with higher levels of glucose at Day 3 were at 6.6 times higher odds of being diagnosed with metritis, and 3.5 times higher odds of developing clinical endometritis, compared with cows with lower glucose levels. Finally, a simple linear regression analysis demonstrated a negative correlation between daily milk yield in the first and second weeks of lactation and plasma glucose concentrations measured at Days 7 and 14, respectively. Concentrations of NEFA and BHBA were not found to be associated with milk production.