DEMOGRAPHIC-ASPECTS OF PAGETS-DISEASE OF BONE IN THE NEGEV OF SOUTHERN ISRAEL

In a mainly retrospective but partly prospective survey of the period 1968-1993 in southern Israel, 61 cases of Paget's disease of bone were identified. Fifty six percent were of non-Afro-Asian origin and 44% o riginated from Afro-Asia, which is approximately the inverse of the ra tio in the local general population. The largest single groups from no n-Afro-Asia and Afro-Asia originated, from Romania and Tunisia, respec tively, and Australia and Argentina were also disproportionately promi nent as countries of origin. Israel itself was the origin of few patie nts. All the patients were Jews except for one Bedouin Arab, which is far different from the distribution of Bedouins and Jews in both the s urveyed area and the hospital population. The differences between thes e groups numerically and against the background local population may w ell have been statistically significant had the circumstances enabled greater randomness in the collection of the data analyzed. It is surmi sed that in southern Israel the prevalence of Paget's disease of bone is about 1%, similar to that in southern Europe.