title: Appendicitis: higher risk in Mexican Americans?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Mexican Americans (MAs), compared to white non-Hispanics (WNHs), have higher rates of biliary disease, noninsulin dependent diabetes, and endstage renal disease but lower rates of lung cancer, hip fractures, and mortality from coronary heart disease. Relatively little research has been done to identify other ethnic differences in disease incidence. We used surgical procedure rates to confirm known ethnic differences and to explore our clinical suspicion that MAs have higher rates of appendectomy than WNHs.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used a registry of surgical procedures at two teaching hospitals in South Texas to calculate proportional operation ratios (PORs) for MAs versus WNHs. These two hospitals are the primary source of acute hospital care for the indigent in the area. The POR is arithmetically identical to proportional incidence and mortality ratios.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MAs underwent appendectomy proportionally more often than WNHs at both hospitals (POR = 1.41 and 1.75, p < 0.0001). Other significant PORs were consistent with known ethnic disease differences in biliary tract operations, vascular access for chronic hemodialysis, lung cancer, and coronary artery bypass.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings support the hypothesis that MAs may undergo appendectomy more often than WNHs and so may be at higher risk of appendicitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: V A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Tuley
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Diehl
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Page
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dhanda
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001062:Appendectomy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D013781:Texas; D044465:White People