Epidemiological Evaluation of Dupuytren's Disease Incidence and Prevalence Rates in Relation to Etiology

Abstract

Dupuytren's Disease (DD) is a common, fibroproliferative disorder affecting the palmar surface of the hands which is often irreversible and progressive. Understanding the epidemiology of DD is important in order to provide clues to its etiopathogenesis. This review aims to evaluate the epidemiological studies carried out in DD since 1951. Studies evaluating the epidemiology of DD were searched using Medline, Pubmed, and Scopus which dated back from 1951 to current date. Inclusion criteria were any studies investigating the prevalence or incidence of DD in any population group. A total of 620 articles were cited. Forty-nine studies were subsequently identified as relevant to evaluating the epidemiology of DD. The prevalence of DD in all studies increased with age with a male to female ratio of approximately 5.9:1. Prevalence rates ranged from 0.2% to 56% in varying age, population groups, and methods of data collection. The highest prevalence rate was reported in a study group of epileptic patients. Although, only one study calculated the incidence (as opposed to prevalence) of DD to be equal to 34.3 per 100,000 men (0.03%). In conclusion, the prevalence of DD in different geographical locations is extremely variable, and it is not clear whether this is genetic, environmental, or a combination of both. The majority of the prevalence studies have been conducted in Scandinavia or the UK, and the vast changes in population structure, the changes in prevalence of associated diseases, and the change in diagnostic criteria of DD makes understanding the epidemiology of this condition difficult.

Incidence of Dupuytren's disease in Africans: A report of 48 new cases and a literature review

“…23 Africa and the rest of Asia had only sporadic cases in this report. In a Japanese study, Egawa et al 21 suggested that the incidence of Dupuytren's disease in Japan differs little from that in northern Europe.…”

“…Hindocha et al 23 described the prevalence of Dupuytren's disease in northern Europe as between 18 and 39%, North America 4 to 26%, Oceania 23% and Japan 19% in an epidemiology evaluation of the disease in 49 papers from across the globe. 23 Africa and the rest of Asia had only sporadic cases in this report.…”

The association between Peyronie's and Dupuytren's disease

“…5 Hindocha et al report a mean age of onset in familial DD of 49 years and 55 in non-familial DD. 13 This may explain the very low percentage of coexisting DD in the study by Levine et al 21 Finally, the varying or unknown follow-up periods in the different studies may explain the wide ranges of coexisting DD in PD.…”

“…Population structure, the prevalence of associated diseases and the diagnostic criteria of DD, makes the understanding of epidemiology quite difficult. 13 The literature concerning coexisting DD in patients presenting with PD shows wide ranges varying from 0.01 to 58.8%. 5,9,[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] The aim of this study is to investigate the coexistence of DD in a consecutive series of patients with PD and their clinical characteristics, presenting at the outpatient urological clinic of the University Medical Centre Groningen, The Netherlands.…”

Patients’ perspective on surgical intervention for Dupuytren’s disease – experiences, expectations and appraisal of results

“…This leads to impairments in hand function and problems with performance of daily activities as well as quality of life [2][3][4][5]. The prevalence of DD increases with age and varies depending on sex [6,7] and ethnic group [7]. In Western populations, a mean prevalence of 21% has been reported among men and 5% among women aged 65 [6].…”