Your study shows an association between keeping ovaries longer and living longer. But do you think ovaries really promote longevity?

Do ovaries really promote longevity? Observed associations between exposures and outcomes may not necessarily be causal, so we explored alternative, non-causal explanations for the association between ovaries and exceptional longevity in our study. But we found no evidence that factors which may influence a pet owner’s decision on age at ovary removal — for example, earlier ovariectomy in dogs with substandard conformation or delayed ovariectomy to obtain more offspring in daughters of long-lived mothers — could adequately account for the strong association. CLICK HERE to see Appendix 1 of our Aging Cell manuscript: “Additional Analysis to Explore Alternative, Non-Causal Explanations for the Association Between Lifetime Ovary Exposure and Exceptional Longevity.”