[Western diet: risk factors for varices and explanation of their different frequencies among French people and immigrants].

Having run through the data of descriptive epidemiology, which shows a much lower incidence of varicose veins in certain countries of the Third World, the author examines the different aetiologies which are currently accepted or applicable and compares them with these data. He concludes that western alimentation is an important risk factor for varicose veins and that it probably acts through a lack of vitamin E. A preliminary survey, carried out in Lorraine among general practitioners who have both French and immigrant patients, shows a slight prevalence of varicose veins among recently arrived immigrants.