Age at gonadectomy and risk of overweight/obesity and orthopedic injury in a cohort of Golden Retrievers

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 14; no. 7; p. e0209131
• Main Authors: Simpson, Melissa, Albright, Sharon, Wolfe, Barbara, Searfoss, Erin, Street, Katie, Diehl, Kelly, Page, Rodney
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 17.07.2019; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Age; Age Factors; Animals; Anterior cruciate ligament; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries - etiology; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries - veterinary; Biocompatibility; Biology and Life Sciences; Biomedical materials; Body weight; Cancer; Castration - adverse effects; Castration - veterinary; Data acquisition; Dog Diseases - etiology; Dog owners; Dogs; Female; Gonadectomy; Hazards; Health aspects; Health risks; Hormones; Injuries; Injury analysis; Knee; Male; Medicine and Health Sciences; Obesity; Obesity - etiology; Obesity - veterinary; Orthopedics; Osteoarthritis; Osteoarthritis - etiology; Osteoarthritis - veterinary; Overweight; Overweight - etiology; Overweight - veterinary; People and Places; Pets; Prospective Studies; Risk analysis; Risk Factors; Risk reduction; Sex Factors; United States; England; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US; Colorado
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209131

In the United States, gonadectomy is common and widely promoted as a component of responsible pet ownership. The recent publication of several studies examining the effect of gonadectomy on future health has challenged long-held assumptions and recommendations for gonadectomy in companion animals. The purpose of this study was to characterize the associations between gonadectomy and two outcomes: overweight/obesity and orthopedic injuries, in a large prospective study of Golden Retrievers. Age at gonadectomy was divided into four categories: intact (reference), ≤ 6 months, > 6 months ‒ ≤ 12 months, and > 12 months. Dogs with a Purina Body Condition Score of 7 or greater were classified as overweight or obese. Orthopedic injuries considered were the first instance of veterinary-reported cranial cruciate ligament injury and clinically evident osteoarthritis. We performed survival analyses on a cohort of Golden Retrievers to estimate the associations of interest using proportional hazards. We adjusted for age at study enrollment, owner-reported activity level, and dog's sex. Compared to intact dogs, all gonadectomy age categories showed increased risk for the development of overweight/obesity. (≤ 6 months, HR: 1.81, 95% CI: 1.36-2.40), p-value: <0.0001; 6 months to ≤ 12 months, HR: 2.21, 95% CI: 1.77-2.73, p-value: < 0.0001; > 12 months, HR: 1.56, 95% CI: 1.24-1.96, p-value: 0.0001). Compared to intact dogs, dogs who were ≤ 6 months at gonadectomy had increased risk for orthopedic injury (HR: 4.06, 95% CI: 2.15-7.67, p-value: <0.00001). This study presents prospectively acquired data demonstrating that gonadectomy is a risk factor for both overweight/obesity and chronic non-traumatic orthopedic injuries in a prospective cohort of Golden Retrievers. Our data suggest that gonadectomy at any age is a risk factor for overweight or obesity, but delaying gonadectomy until dogs are at least 6-12 months of age may help to decrease the risk for orthopedic injury.