Abdominal aortic aneurysm epidemiology and demographics

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Epidemiology & demographics
AAA is uncommon in individuals of African, African American, Asian and Hispanic heritage. The frequency rate varies strongly between males and females. The peak incidence is among males around 70 years of age, the prevalence among males over 60 years totals 2-6%. The frequency is much higher in smokers than in non-smokers (8:1). Other risk factors include hypertension and male sex. In the US, the incidence of AAA is 2-4% in the adult population. . Rupture of the AAA occurs in 1-3% of men aged 65 or more, the mortality is 70-95%.


 * Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) is a disease of the elderly, and is the 10th leading cause of death in older men in the United States.
 * An individual's risk of AAA increases by 6% per decade of life
 * In a multinational study, the prevalence of AAA was four times higher in men than women.
 * The prevalence is 2-5 times higher in men and 2-3 times higher in women with other cardiovascular risk factors or atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases, than in control groups without risk factors.
 * The disease tends to affect older Caucasion males
 * AAA tends to cluster in families, therefore affecting younger members of families in the absence of traditional acquired risk factors.

Acknowledgements
The content on this page was first contributed by: C. Michael Gibson M.S., M.D.