Epidemiology of chronic venous ulcers

A metropolitan population of 238,000 in Perth, Western Australia, was screened for chronic ulceration of the leg. Patients with a chronic leg ulcer and a venous abnormality comprised 57 per cent of all patients with a chronic leg ulcer, giving a prevalence of 0.62 per 1000 population. There was an increasing prevalence with age; 90 per cent of patients were 60 years and older. This group comprised 16.7 per cent of the population, and had a …