The Incidence of Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease in Korea
SM Rowe, TR Yoon, ST Jung, JK Seon
Department of Orthopedics, Chonnam National University Hospital, Kwangju, Korea

Introduction: The incidence of Legg-Calvé-Perthes Disease (LCPD) has varied considerably both between countries and between population groups. The incidence of LCPD has not been reported in Korea. The purpose of this study was to determine the annual incidence of LCPD in Korea and to compare with that in other population groups.

Materials and Methods: Firstly, only LCPD children who were living in Chonnam Province and aged 14 years and under during the year 1999, 2000, and 2001 were reviewed to measure annual incidence of Chonnam Province in Korea. Secondly, for a further study regarding the variables related to the epidemiological interest, 816 hips, which were treated at our hospital during the last 32 years from 1972 to 2003, were reviewed.

Results: The population aged 14 years and under was 734,645 in 1999, 728,721 in 2000, and 719,504 in 2001. Among them, the number of LCPD children was 29 in 1999, 28 in 2000, and 24 in 2001. The annual incidence was 3.9 in 1999, 3.8 in 2000, and 3.3 in 2001, with a mean incidence of 3.7.

Conclusion: The annual incidence of LCPD in Korean children aged 14 years and under was 3.7 per 100,000. This Korean incidence was lower than the 5.1 to 21.1 reported in the Caucasians and higher than the 0.45 reported for in blacks or mixed. The incidence of sex, bilaterality, age of disease onset, the extent of head involvement, and other related epidemiological interests was similar to those reported in other studies.