Epidemiology of abdominal aortic aneurysms in the Asian community

Background: Studies relating to the ethnic origin of patients with an abdom inal aortic aneurysm (AAA) are few and are mainly concerned with the differ ences between black and white Americans. The purpose of this study was to d etermine whether the incidence of AAA among the Asian population of Bradfor d is different from that in the Caucasian population. Methods: A retrospective study of patients with an AAA was carried out betw een 1990 and 1997 using data collected by the Patient Administrative Servic e, personal databases of the vascular consultants and theatre records. Info rmation about the ethnic composition of the population of Bradford was obta ined from the 1991 national census. Demographic data, including ethnic orig in and clinical details, were obtained from patient notes. Results: Two hundred and thirty-three patients with an AAA were identified during the study interval. The Asian population comprised 14.0 per cent of the total population of Bradford. Twenty-eight AAAs would be expected per y ear. All of the aneurysms identified occurred in the Caucasian population a nd none in the Asian community. Conclusion: These early results suggest that AAA is rare among the Asian po pulation.