Impact of Legg-Calve-Perthes disease in a Mediterranean health area.

INTRODUCTION

Several socioeconomic population factors have been related to the aetiology of Legg-Calve-Perthes disease (LCPD), such as its higher incidence in the urban population, living on the periphery of urban centres or residing at a certain latitude with respect to the world equator. The incidence in some other countries is known but the incidence of the process in our environment is unknown an important fact to allocate the social and health resources necessary for the treatment of the disease. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to determine the incidence of LCPD in Health Area 2 of Madrid.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

The incidence of LCPD is analysed in Healthcare Area 2 of Madrid because it is the Mediterranean area that has been scarcely studied. It is an area with very low geographic mobility, a medium-low socioeconomic level, and mostly composed of workers in companies in the secondary and tertiary sectors. The data were obtained from the hospital databases of Area 2 between the years 1994 and 2010. The inclusion criteria were the presence of LCPD and the territorial distribution of the population in Area 2 of Madrid.

CONCLUSIONS

The incidence of LCPD in this Mediterranean population of an industrial area was 1.59 cases/year and 100,000 inhabitants, close to that found in populations of similar latitudes, but nevertheless it is an industrial area and socioeconomic level similar to United Kingdom populations with a much higher incidence.