Does albinism affect health?
General health — The albinistic syndrome may be accompanied by a wide range of health problems. Some types of albinism affect the immune system, liver, or clotting ability, and others may cause other physiological abnormalities such as defects of the kidneys or thymus, anemia, inner ear defects, megacolon, neurological abnormalities, skeletal defects, microphthalmia, osteopetrosis, spina bifida, and sterility, just to name a few. Albinism in general predisposes animals to skin cancer as well as photosensitivity/photophobia. In some species, some types of albinism are even lethal! So it is easy to see that albinism is NOT just a matter of pigment, it’s a deleterious mutation which affects the whole body. Unfortunately, these health problems have not yet been studied in a controlled manner in the albino Doberman. However, as with the behavioral effects of albinism, there is no reason to suspect that the health effects of albinism will be any different in Dobermans than in other species.
