Life tables of annual life expectancy and mortality for companion dogs in the United Kingdom

Tzu-yun Teng, Kendy; Brodbelt, Dave; Pegram, Camilla; Church, David; O’Neill, Dan

Abstract

A life table is a tabulated expression of life expectancy and mortality-related information at specified ages in a given population. This study applied the VetCompass Programme to generate life tables for the UK dog population both overall and broken down by sex, Kennel Club breed group and common breeds. Among 30,563 dogs that died between 1st January 2016 and 31st July 2020, life expectancy at age 0 was 11.23 [95% confidence interval (CI): 11.19−11.27] years. Female dogs (11.41 years; 95% CI: 11.35−11.47) had a greater life expectancy than males (11.07 years; 95% CI: 11.01−11.13) at age 0. Life tables varied widely between breeds. Jack Russell Terrier (12.72 years; 95% CI: 12.53−12.90) and French Bulldog (4.53 years; 95% CI: 4.14−5.01) had the longest and shortest life expectancy at age 0, respectively. Life tables generated by the current study promote a deeper understanding of the varied life trajectory across many types of dogs and offer novel insights and applications to improve canine health and welfare.

Citation

Tzu-yun Teng, K., Brodbelt, D., Pegram, C., Church, D., & O’Neill, D. (2022). Life tables of annual life expectancy and mortality for companion dogs in the United Kingdom. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 6415. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-10341-6

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 1, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Dec 1, 2022
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2022
• Deposit Date: Aug 16, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 9, 2022
• Journal: Scientific Reports
• Publisher: Nature Research
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 6415
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-10341-6
• Publisher URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-10341-6