The Evaluation of Prevalence and Probable Predisposing Factors of Inguinal Hernia in Admitted Patients of Bushehr Educational Hospitals (2004 - 2009)

Introduction & Hernia is a defect in aponeurotic muscular layers of abdominal wall that is large enough to let intra-abdominal structures pass through a sack of hernia, which is a diverticulum. Because of the high prevalence of inguinal hernia in our society and the transient disability and discomfort caused by it, we decided to investigate the causes of inguinal hernia in 10-70 years old adults in Bushehr’s Fateme Zahra hospital for detecting risk factors in order to improve society’s health level. In a descriptive cross-sectional study of 10 to 70 years old patients, diagnosed as inguinal hernia, between April 2004 to March 2009 who, had a herniorhaphy surgery in Fatemeh Zahra and Bentolhoda Hospitals of Bushehr University of medical sciences, after informing the patients, taking their history and performing and physical exams. The results were evaluated by SPSS 13, using descriptive data. 763 patients with the age range of 38±15.4 were investigated, which included 92% men and 8% women. 474 patients (62.1% of cases) had non-incarcerated inguinal hernia and (37.9% of cases) 280 patients had incarcerated inguinal hernia. According to probable baseline causes of inguinal hernia, causes like heavy physical activity, cigarette smoking and other tobacco products, chronic constipation, positive family history, history of previous operation on inguinal area, history of chronic cough, benign prostatic hyperplasia, chronic obstructive lung disease and collagen vascular diseases, had respectively the most prevalence rate and it was significantly and meaningfully higher than the case of non-incarcerated group. Due to the high prevalence of inguinal hernia and the risk of incarceration and also its negative effects on society’s economic system and also considering the fact that most of the probable causes of this disease are controllable, country’s major programming for educating people to modify life style, can lead to better quality of life and improvement of country’s economics.