Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Spaying linked to urinary incontinence risk in female dogs in the UK
By Pegram, C. et al.·Published in Journal of Small Animal Practice·2019·Pathobiology and Population Science The Royal Veterinary College Hatfield Herts, AL9 7TA UK, United Kingdom·View original on Crossref →
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Original publication title: Spaying and urinary incontinence in bitches under UK primary veterinary care: a case–control study
Plain-English summary
A study found that spaying female dogs is linked to a higher chance of developing urinary incontinence, which means they may leak urine involuntarily. This was observed in a large group of dogs, where spayed females had three times the odds of experiencing this issue compared to those who were not spayed. Additionally, older and heavier dogs were also more likely to have urinary incontinence. While spaying is a significant risk factor, the age at which a dog is spayed does not seem to affect this risk. Pet owners should discuss these findings with their veterinarian when considering spaying.
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Abstract
ObjectivesTo evaluate associations between spaying and urinary incontinence in bitches under primary veterinary care in the UK.Materials and MethodsA case–control study was nested within the study population of 333,910 bitches, which included all bitches within the VetCompass database with an electronic patient record in 2016 or in both 2015 and 2017. The electronic records were searched automatically for urinary incontinence cases, which were manually reviewed for inclusion. All non‐cases were included as controls. Additional demographic and clinical information was extracted on cases and controls.ResultsThe study included 427 incident cases and 1708 controls that were presented between November 1, 2014 and October 31, 2017. Prior spaying was associated with increased odds of urinary incontinence (odds ratio: 3.01; 95% CIs: 2.23 to 4.05). Increased odds of urinary incontinence were additionally associated with increasing age and increasing bodyweight. Age at spay was not associated with urinary incontinence.Clinical SignificanceThe findings support spaying as a major risk factor associated with urinary incontinence, but age at spay appears to be of less clinical importance. These results will help assist clinicians in making evidence‐based recommendations on spaying while taking other considerations for urinary incontinence into account.
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Search related cases →Original publication on Crossref: https://doi.org/10.1111/jsap.13014