Evans C J, Fowkes F G, Hajivassiliou C A, Harper D R, Ruckley C V
Wolfson Unit for the Prevention of Peripheral Vascular Diseases, University of Edinburgh, U.K.
Int Angiol. 1994 Sep;13(3):263-70.
Disease of the venous system is a major problem affecting western societies, resulting in considerable morbidity in the population and cost to the health service. In many countries "varicose veins are probably the commonest disorder presenting to general surgeons" and an average of 30% of district nursing time is estimated to be spent caring for patients with venous ulcers. For the patient with varicose veins or leg ulceration, there is often persistent discomfort and disability extending over long periods of time. Despite this, little epidemiological research has been carried out on venous disease, perhaps partly because of society's perception that venous disease is not a major problem and it is not normally a cause death. More recently however, efforts have been made to conduct structured epidemiological studies to identify risk factors and to clarify the geographical variations suggested in the past by anecdotal evidence. This article reviews recent epidemiological studies, discusses the prevalence of varicose veins and presents evidence for and against the differing theories of causation.
静脉系统疾病是影响西方社会的一个主要问题，给民众带来了相当高的发病率，并给医疗服务带来了成本。在许多国家，“静脉曲张可能是普通外科医生接诊的最常见病症”，据估计，地区护理时间平均有30%用于照顾患有静脉溃疡的患者。对于患有静脉曲张或腿部溃疡的患者，常常会长期存在持续的不适和残疾。尽管如此，针对静脉疾病的流行病学研究却很少，这可能部分是因为社会认为静脉疾病不是一个主要问题，而且通常不会导致死亡。然而，最近人们已努力开展结构化的流行病学研究，以确定风险因素，并澄清过去轶事证据所表明的地理差异。本文回顾了近期的流行病学研究，讨论了静脉曲张的患病率，并提供了支持和反对不同病因理论的证据。
