Currently about 30% to 50% of all dairy cows are affected by a metabolic or infectious disease during the transition period. A key factor for preventive actions is the ability to precisely predict metabolic diseases at an early stage. We report the longitudinal metabolic profile of non-esterified fatty acids, beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), total bilirubin, and aspartate aminotransferase in hyperketonemic dairy cows. Aiming for a novel measurement regime to improve metabolic health in dairy cows, we evaluated prognostic classifiers for hyperketonemia. In the observational longitudinal study, 99 healthy adult primiparous and multiparous Simmental dairy cows were included. Every cow was monitored weekly for 14 consecutive weeks, beginning two weeks prior to the expected day of parturition until peak lactation. Cows with serum concentrations of BHB > 0.8 mmol/L were considered hyperketonemic. Biomarker profiles were fitted by the maximum likelihood method using a mixed effects natural cubic spline model. In the hyperketonemic group, the BHB profile remained significantly higher than that of the control group until the end of the study period. As a prognostic classifier, the cut-off level of 0.54 mmol/L BHB measured on the 10th day post partum had the highest area under the curve. These results provide new longitudinal insights into the metabolic biomarker progression of dairy cows and enable an early onset diagnosis of hyperketonemia.
Keywords: beta-hydroxybutyrate; biomarker monitoring; hyperketonemia; ketosis; longitudinal; metabolic profile; prognostic biomarker; progression; subclinical ketosis.