Abstract
Abstract
Objective
“Years of life lost” (YLL) describes the burden of a given cause of death on a population by measuring the years of remaining life expectancy at the time of death. The objective of this study was to quantify the YLL due to trauma in dogs and cats.
Methods
In this retrospective descriptive study, fatal traumatic injury data for dogs and cats were obtained from the Veterinary Committee on Trauma registry from September 2013 to April 2025. Life expectancies for cats and 5 size categories of dogs were obtained from previously published life tables. Years of life lost were calculated by subtracting the years lived from the life expectancy.
Results
There were 5,980 animals included in this study: 4,083 dogs and 1,897 cats. Traumatic injury resulted in a median loss of 7.03 years in dogs and 8.18 years in cats. This loss equated to 55% of the canine life expectancy and 73% of the feline life expectancy. The traumatic injury subcategories associated with the most YLL were “injured by falling object,” “struck by vehicle,” “fall from height,” “penetrating bite wound,” and “nonpenetrating bite wound.” American Staffordshire Terriers were an over-represented breed and had a median YLL of 9.51 years, nearly 75% of their life expectancy.
Conclusions
Trauma is responsible for a substantial loss of life in dogs and cats. Blunt traumas, particularly being struck by a vehicle, predominate in the total loss of life years.
Clinical Relevance
Quantifying YLL provides an additional perspective about the burden of trauma in dogs and cats.