The prevalence of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis in Korea.
OBJECTIVE
To identify the prevalence of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) in a large Asian population group.


METHODS
A total of 3595 subjects (1616 men and 1979 women) over 50 years of age, residing in 2 cities in Korea, were included in this study. The mean age of the study population was 64.25 +/- 9.06 years. We reviewed lateral chest radiographs through Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) and identified DISH according to Resnick's and Julkunen's criteria.


RESULTS
One hundred and four (2.9%) of the 3595 subjects were diagnosed with DISH according to classical Resnick criteria. A slight increase in prevalence (4.1%) could be seen using Julkunen's criteria. The prevalence of DISH increased with age, except for the 90-99 year age group. Men were approximately 7 times more likely to have DISH than women using Resnick's criteria.


CONCLUSIONS
DISH is an age-related skeletal disorder whose overall prevalence is much lower in Koreans than in other Western populations. Interestingly, the prevalence of DISH was 7 times higher in men. We propose that ethnic factors are important elements in the prevalence of DISH.
The Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Seong-Kyu
SK
Kim
Byung-Ryul
BR
Choi
Chae-Gi
CG
Kim
Seung-Hie
SH
Chung
Jung-Yoon
JY
Choe
Kyung-Bin
KB
Joo
Sang-Cheol
SC
Bae
Dae-Hyun
DH
Yoo
Jae-Bum
JB
Jun
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D004057:Hyperostosis, Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000473:pathology; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged