Impact of abortion incidences on Holstein productivity

Impact of abortion incidences on Holstein productivity | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Impact of abortion incidences on Holstein productivity Pouya Hossein-Khani, Saeid Ansari-Mahyari, Reza Reisi-Vanani, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7150721/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Abortion in Holstein cows is a significant reproductive issue, causing substantial financial losses in the dairy industry. This study examined the genetic and phenotypic associations between abortion within the first 150 days of gestation and key productive and reproductive traits in Iranian Holsteins. Data were analyzed using SQL software, with statistical analyses performed via the GLIMMIX procedure in SAS. Variance components and correlations were estimated using a Bayesian approach with Gibbs sampling in DMU software. The average abortion rate was 6.3% (range: 1.6%–14.9%). Factors such as parity, number of inseminations per conception (NI), peak milk yield (PMY), day of peak milk yield (DPY), and somatic cell score (SCS) significantly increased abortion risk (P < 0.01). Cows calving in winter or spring, with higher parity, more NI, or elevated SCS faced greater abortion risks. First-parity cows with higher PMY and multiparous cows with PMY below 40 kg and DPY under 50 days showed elevated abortion rates. Abortion heritability was low (0.08), while peak production traits (milk, fat, protein yield) had moderate heritability (0.17–0.22). Genetic correlations indicated a positive link between abortion, PMY, and SCS, suggesting high milk production adversely affects pregnancy maintenance. Phenotypic correlations between abortion and SCS were positive, highlighting clinical mastitis as a risk factor. Despite low heritability, improved management practices are crucial for reducing abortion risks in Holstein cattle. Abortion Holstein cattle genetic correlation milk yield production traits Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Dec, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 21 Aug, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 21 Jul, 2025 First submitted to journal 19 Jul, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7150721","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":503895881,"identity":"32c0c678-70e8-47b5-95e1-938d420021b6","order_by":0,"name":"Pouya Hossein-Khani","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Isfahan University of Technology College of Agricultural Engineering","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pouya","middleName":"","lastName":"Hossein-Khani","suffix":""},{"id":503895882,"identity":"5885cfbe-92c9-4455-99a3-05226244d50e","order_by":1,"name":"Saeid Ansari-Mahyari","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1115-5043","institution":"Isfahan University of Technology College of Agricultural Engineering","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Saeid","middleName":"","lastName":"Ansari-Mahyari","suffix":""},{"id":503895883,"identity":"6284471d-04a3-43c8-b1f2-fbe71f9e7fa0","order_by":2,"name":"Reza Reisi-Vanani","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA/ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYPACCQY2KEOOgYGHRC3GxGpBgMQGQlrM29sffq6osLDnk0h+9uDnDov0DcfPHnzwgcFOTrcBuxaZMweSJc+ckUhsk0gzN+w9I5G74UxesuEMhmRjswM4PCGRcECysU0igY3ngJkEbxtQy4EcM2kehgOJ23BpkX/Y/LPxn4Q9G8/xb5J/2yTSDc6/IaBFgplNsrFBgrGNvcdMGmhLgsENQrbwpLFZNhwD+oW9p0xatk3CcOaNN8aGMwzw+IX9+OObDTV19vLN7Nsk37bVyfOdzzF88KHCTg6XFkygAFZpQKxyEJBvIEX1KBgFo2AUjAQAAOqJVSbnoOh7AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5218-4109","institution":"Isfahan University of Technology College of Agricultural Engineering","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Reza","middleName":"","lastName":"Reisi-Vanani","suffix":""},{"id":503895884,"identity":"694489ce-4178-4b2c-85af-1a06bf577bc2","order_by":3,"name":"Abolfazl Mahnani","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Isfahan University of Technology College of Agricultural Engineering","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Abolfazl","middleName":"","lastName":"Mahnani","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-07-17 15:43:44","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7150721/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7150721/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":90333430,"identity":"82784ef4-f5d0-49c5-b023-97f7cafcae01","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-01 13:38:53","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":387691,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ImpactofabortionincidencesonHolsteinproductivity.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7150721/v1_covered_635e9190-92ed-489a-91b7-37b6cf4f96d1.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Impact of abortion incidences on Holstein productivity","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"tropical-animal-health-and-production","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"trop","sideBox":"Learn more about [Tropical Animal Health and Production](https://www.springer.com/journal/11250)","snPcode":"11250","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11250/3","title":"Tropical Animal Health and Production","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Abortion, Holstein cattle, genetic correlation, milk yield, production traits ","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7150721/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7150721/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Abortion in Holstein cows is a significant reproductive issue, causing substantial financial losses in the dairy industry. This study examined the genetic and phenotypic associations between abortion within the first 150 days of gestation and key productive and reproductive traits in Iranian Holsteins. Data were analyzed using SQL software, with statistical analyses performed via the GLIMMIX procedure in SAS. Variance components and correlations were estimated using a Bayesian approach with Gibbs sampling in DMU software. The average abortion rate was 6.3% (range: 1.6%–14.9%). Factors such as parity, number of inseminations per conception (NI), peak milk yield (PMY), day of peak milk yield (DPY), and somatic cell score (SCS) significantly increased abortion risk (P \u0026lt; 0.01). Cows calving in winter or spring, with higher parity, more NI, or elevated SCS faced greater abortion risks. First-parity cows with higher PMY and multiparous cows with PMY below 40 kg and DPY under 50 days showed elevated abortion rates. Abortion heritability was low (0.08), while peak production traits (milk, fat, protein yield) had moderate heritability (0.17–0.22). Genetic correlations indicated a positive link between abortion, PMY, and SCS, suggesting high milk production adversely affects pregnancy maintenance. Phenotypic correlations between abortion and SCS were positive, highlighting clinical mastitis as a risk factor. 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