Publication
D. Low. Cumulative gonadal hormone exposure is nonlinearly associated with risk of canine cranial cruciate ligament disease: a generalised additive model analysis of 20,590 dogs (1988–2023). Journal of Small Animal Practice (2025), pp. 1–8 in the supplied version. [27]
Site summary — not the original abstract
Study and design
Low reanalyzed retrospective hospital data from 20,590 dogs using generalized additive models to examine the association between cumulative gonadal hormone exposure and cranial cruciate ligament disease (CrCLD). [27]
Results
The fitted curves reached their lowest modeled risk at 1054 days for females and 805 days for males; the author presented 2.9 and 2.2 years as preliminary, population-level definitions in this CrCLD analysis, not validated individual surgical ages. [27]
What the exposure measure means
Exposure was calculated from birth to gonadectomy for desexed dogs, but from birth to the last hospital visit for intact dogs; it is a time-based proxy, not a hormone measurement. [27]
Limits
This observational reanalysis cannot establish causation: gonadectomy did not precede diagnosis in 141 of 448 CrCLD cases (31.5%), and the paper notes confounding, limited breed-level applicability, and the need for external validation before clinical practice recommendations. [27]
Individual decisions
While the study offers population-wide trends, it does not prescribe a one-size-fits-all approach. Trainers should support owners in making informed decisions with veterinarians, considering breed predisposition, lifestyle, and health history.
Responses