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.