District-based abdominal aortic aneurysm screening in population aged 65 years and older.
OBJECTIVE
Screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) has been carried out in an area of Genoa (Italy) for subjects aged 65 years or more to evaluate prevalence of this disease.


METHODS
Between March 2007 and September 2009 8234 subjects were screened. Ultrasound examination of the abdominal aorta and the iliac arterial segments was carried out on each subject and all data related to risk factors were collected.


RESULTS
Five hundreds-twelve (6.2%) subjects were found to have an AAA: 469 (10.8%) males and 43 (1.1%) females (significant difference, P < 0.01). Based on the aortic diameter, 403 (4.9%), 80 (1.0%) and 29 (0.3%) had an AAA of 3.0-3.9 cm, 4.0-4.9 cm and ≥ 5.0 cm diameter, respectively. With regards to risk factors, family history of cardiovascular disease only resulted more frequent in subjects with AAA than in those without AAA.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of patients with AAA (6.2%) was similar to previously published estimates. Nevertheless, AAA resulted very high in males. This observation is likely due to screening in a city with a very high percentage of elderly subjects. Family predisposition to cardiovascular disease resulted significant risk factor for AAA. Results of our epidemiological study provide evidence of the usefulness of AAA screening thanks to early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of AAA.
Vascular and Endovascular Surgery Unit, San Martino University Hospital, Genoa, Italy. glucert@tin.it
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D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000235:genetics; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007083:Iliac Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D010375:Pedigree; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D014463:Ultrasonography