title: Risk factors and operative results of patients aged less than 66 years operated on for asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To report risk factors, early operative results and survival after repair of asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in patients aged less than 66 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  a retrospective study based on a prospectively updated database in a University hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between 1985 and 1999, 118 patients of less than 66 years were operated for AAA. Pre-operative risk factors, early complications, operative mortality (<30 days), and survival are compared with that of 333 older patients operated during the same period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Risk factors were similar to older patients. Serious early (<30 days) complications were recorded in 20% of both groups. The operative mortality was 1.7% for the younger patients and 6% for the older (n.s.). The eight-year survival of the younger patients was 69%, which was significantly below that of a demographically matched population. The older patients had a significantly poorer eight-year survival of 47% (p<0.01), but their relative survival was significantly better (p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Younger patients with an AAA were not healthier than older patients. Complications were equally common among both groups. Although the operative mortality was lower, the long-term relative survival was poorer than that of the older patient. Present data do not support a more aggressive surgical attitude towards the younger patients with an asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm, as compared to the older.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, 5021, Norway.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aune
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D019917:Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation / Q000379:methods / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011336:Probability; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality