WASHINGTON, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Many dog owners have their pets spayed or neutered to help control the pet population, but a new study suggests the procedure could add to the length of their lives and alter the risk of specific causes of death.
Looking at a sample of over 40,000 death records from a veterinary medical database between 1984 and 2004, researchers from the University of Georgia determined the average age at death for intact dogs that had not been spayed or neutered was 7.9 years versus 9.4 years for sterilized dogs.
They also found that dogs who had undergone a spay or castration were more likely to die from cancer or autoimmune diseases. Those in the sample who still had functional reproduction systems at death were more likely to die from infectious disease and trauma.
"Intact dogs are still dying from cancer; it is just a more common cause of death for those that are sterilized," said Jessica Hoffman, one of the authors of the study which appears in the journal PLOS ONE.
"At the level of the individual dog owner, our study tells pet owners that, overall, sterilized dogs will live longer, which is good to know," said Kate Creevy, an assistant professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine, who coauthored the study.
"Also, if you are going to sterilize your dog, you should be aware of possible risks of immune-mediated diseases and cancer; and if you are going to keep him or her intact, you need to keep your eye out for trauma and infection," she said.
Their findings are valuable not only for learning about dogs, she said, but also for studying reproductive effects in humans as well.
"There are a few studies of people who are sterilized, specifically among men who are castrated for cultural or medical reasons," Creevy said.
"Interestingly, there was a difference in their life spans too, and the castrated men tended to live longer. The men in that study who were not sterilized also got more infections, supporting the idea that there is a physiological reason for this," she added.
A father posed nude at an art studio, to raise money for his children's medical expenses
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