Correlation between age at neutering and age at onset of hyperadrenocorticism in ferrets

OBJECTIVE: To determine prevalence of hyperadrenocorticism in ferrets in The Netherlands and evaluate age, sex, and age at neutering in affected ferrets. DESIGN: Prevalence survey and retrospective study. ANIMALS: 50 ferrets with hyperadrenocorticism and 1,267 ferrets without hyperadrenocorticism. PROCEDURE: A questionnaire was sent to 1,400 members of a ferret-owners organization in The Netherlands; 492 (35%) owners returned the questionnaire, providing usable data on 1,274 ferrets. Seven of these ferrets developed hyperadrenocorticism during the survey period; medical records for these ferrets and 43 ferrets with confirmed hyperadrenocorticism were reviewed. Hyperadrenocorticism was confirmed by histologic examination of an excised adrenal gland (92% of ferrets) or clinical improvement after excision. RESULTS: Prevalence of hyperadrenocorticism in the survey population was 0.55%. Sex was not associated with prevalence of disease. Median time interval between neutering and diagnosis of hyperadrenocorticism was 3.5 years. A significant linear correlation between age at neutering and age at time of diagnosis was detected. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Age at neutering may be associated with age at development of hyperadrenocorticism in ferrets.