Nationwide survey to evaluate medical utilization by patients with inguinal hernia and the risk of developing varicocele in Taiwan

Figures & data

Table 1 Newly diagnosed inguinal hernia cases, sex difference, and numbers of herniorrhaphies performed from 2001 to 2008

Year	NDC	MR	IR	Hx (n)	MR	IR
2001	1,592	92.4	1.71	800	92.0	0.86
2002	1,597	92.0	1.71	889	91.9	0.95
2003	1,458	92.0	1.53	821	92.0	0.86
2004	1,591	92.8	1.66	983	91.6	1.03
2005	1,510	92.8	1.51	926	92.4	0.93
2006	1,426	92.6	1.43	945	92.1	0.95
2007	1,326	92.0	1.34	846	92.8	0.85
2008	1,228	92.0	1.24	765	91.5	0.77
Mean	1,466	92.4	1.52	871.9	92.0	0.86

Abbreviations: NDC, newly diagnosed inguinal hernia cases; MR (%), male ratio (number of male patients/total patients ×100%); IR, incidence rate (per 10³/year); Hx, herniorrhaphy.

Table 2 Newly diagnosed inguinal hernia cases, sex difference, and numbers of herniorrhaphies performed by age group from 2001 to 2008

Age (years)	NDC	MR	IR	Hx (n)	MR
<10	2,070	89.9	55.71	1,236	89.5
10–19	340	90.6	5.21	202	90.5
20–29	815	91.6	3.12	493	91.4
30–39	765	91.7	3.86	465	91.6
40–49	1,240	92.9	7.72	748	92.5
50–59	1,670	93.6	15.61	1,000	93.0
60–69	1,895	93.7	20.12	1,136	93.5
70+	2,933	95.2	68.91	1,696	94.0

Abbreviations: NDC, newly diagnosed inguinal hernia cases; MR (%), male ratio (number of male patients/total patients ×100%); IR, incidence rate (per 10³/year); Hx, herniorrhaphy.

Table 3 Newly diagnosed inguinal hernia cases, numbers of outpatient visits, and numbers of herniorrhaphies performed in different seasons between 2001 and 2008

Parameters	Season
	Spring		Summer		Autumn		Winter
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
NDC^†	2,832	25.46	2,976	26.75	2,809	25.25	2,507	22.54
OV^*	9,853	25.13	10,798	27.54	9,968	25.42	8,596	21.92
Hx^#	1,875	25.33	2,019	27.28	1,881	25.41	1,627	21.98

Notes: The χ² test was used for statistical analysis; (^†,*,#P<0.0001). P<0.05 was considered as a significant difference.

Abbreviations: NDC, newly-diagnosed inguinal hernia cases; OV, outpatient visits; Hx, herniorrhaphies.

Table 4 Newly diagnosed inguinal hernia cases and numbers of outpatient visits by area of Taiwan from 2001 to 2008

Parameters	Areas
	Northern		Central		Southern		Eastern
	n	%	n	%	N	%	n	%
NDC^†	5,261	47.29	3,092	27.80	2,549	22.91	222	2.00
OV^*	6,250	47.40	3,658	27.74	3,013	22.85	266	2.02

Notes: The χ² test was used for statistical analysis (^†P<0.0001; *P<0.0001), P<0.05 was considered as a significant difference.

Abbreviations: NDC, newly diagnosed inguinal hernia cases; OV, outpatient visits.

Table 5 Development of ipsilateral varicocele after herniorrhaphy in different years and different age groups

Year	NDCV	IR	Age	NDCV	IR
2001	17	1.83	<10	15	1.54
2002	25	2.67	10–19	40	4.45
2003	22	2.31	20–29	31	3.47
2004	31	3.24	30–39	26	2.64
2005	34	3.40	40–49	35	3.51
2006	17	1.71	50–59	18	1.82
2007	23	2.32	60–69	15	1.56
2008	24	2.43	70+	13	1.44

Abbreviations: NDCV, newly diagnosed cases of varicocele; IR, incidence rate (per 10⁵/year).