Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37770016›Full record

ArticleJournal of the American Veterinary Medical Association2024

Analysis of 2,570 responses to Dog Aging Project End of Life Survey demonstrates that euthanasia is associated with cause of death but not age.

Elizabeth B Pearson, Jessica M Hoffman, Rachel L Melvin, Kellyn E McNulty, Dog Aging Project Consortium, Kate E Creevy, Audrey Ruple

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Retrospective evaluation of dogs presenting with hemothorax.Journal of veterinary internal medicine · 2026
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Dog and owner demographics impact dietary choices in Dog Aging Project cohort.Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association · 2024
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Elizabeth B Pearson1Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.
Jessica M Hoffman2Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics, Augusta University, Augusta, GA.
Rachel L Melvin1Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.
Kellyn E McNulty1Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.
Dog Aging Project Consortium
Kate E Creevy1Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.
Audrey Ruple3Department of Population Health Sciences, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.

Funding

The Dog Aging Project: Genetic and Environmental Determinants of Healthy Aging in Companion Dogs Competitive RevisionU19AG057377 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI KEENE, CHRISTOPHER DIRK, PROMISLOW, DANIEL EDWARD · 2018 to 2023
$29.0M
The metabolomic consequences of small size and long lifeR00AG059920 · NIA · AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY · PI HOFFMAN, JESSICA MARIE · 2022 to 2024
$742k
NIA NIH HHS R00 AG059920NIA NIH HHS U19 AG057377
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThe Dog Aging Project End of Life Survey was used to evaluate factors associated with manner of death (euthanasia vs unassisted death), including cause of death (CoD), reason for euthanasia (RFE) if performed, medical symptoms, old age characteristics, and perimortem quality of life (QoL). SAMPLE: Responses collected between the End of Life Survey launch (January 20, 2021) through December 31, 2021, from 2,570 participants whose dogs died.

methodsResponse frequencies were described. Associations between manner of death and medical symptoms or old age characteristics were evaluated using logistic regression. Factors associated with RFE were evaluated using multinomial regression. The effects of CoD, age at death, and QoL on the frequency of euthanasia as the manner of death were evaluated using multivariate logistic regression.

results2,195 (85.4%) dogs were euthanized, and 375 (14.6%) experienced unassisted death. The most frequent owner-reported CoD was illness/disease (n = 1,495 [58.1%]). The most frequently reported RFE was pain/suffering (n = 1,080 [49.2% of those euthanized]). As age increased, RFE was more likely to be "poor QoL" than any other response. In a multivariate regression including CoD, chronologic age, and QoL, euthanasia as the manner of death was not significantly associated with age. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Euthanasia was a common manner of death for dogs in the US. Compared with unassisted death, euthanasia was associated with CoD illness/disease, lower QoL scores, and the presence and number of medical symptoms and old age characteristics. Understanding factors associated with manner of death is important to veterinarians who care for dogs at the end of life.

Indexed as

Dog DiseasesQuality of LifeAgingAnimalsCause of DeathDeathDogsEuthanasia, AnimalSurveys and Questionnairesagedeathend of lifeeuthanasiaquality of life

Identifiers

PMID37770016
PMCPMC10996864

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.