Epidemiologic Study about Varicoceles of 19 Year-old Men in Chung-Nam Province

Ku, Ja Hyeon; Son, Hwan cheol; Hur, Jung Sik; Kwak, Cheol; Kim, Soo Woong; Paick, Jae Seung; Lee, Sang Eun; Kim, Min Eui; Lee, Nam Kyu; Park, Young Ho

Abstract

PURPOSE: To survey epidemiologic characteristics about varicocele and identified several characteristics in young men.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Between May and December 2001, 2,700 were randomly selected at a 10.0% sampling fraction by census district of 27,202 men aged 19 years. A total of 2,080 (a response rate 77.0%) men underwent a standard evaluation including testicular volume. Of men with unilateral varicocele, testicular atrophy was defined as a testis 25% or more smaller (volume/volume) than its contralateral mate.
RESULTS
Among participants, 169 (8.1%) men with 199 varicoceles were observed to have varicoceles on physical examination or had a history of varicocelectomy. The varicocele was on the left side in 136 (80.5%), right side in three (1.8%), and bilateral in 30 (17.7%). Of 125 men with unilateral varicocele, physical examination revealed grade I varicocele in 34 men (27.2%), grade II in 45 (36.0%), and grade III in 46 (36.8%). Testicular volume (13.6 +/- 4.6mL) of affected side in varicocele group was significantly smaller than that of contralateral side (16.3 +/- 4.5 mL) in varicocele group as well as right (15.9 +/- 4.5 mL) or left side (15.3 +/- 4.6 mL) in normal group (p<0.001). Testicular volume of contalateral side in varicocele group was significantly larger than that of left side in normal group (p<0.05). Comparing with testicular parameters according to grades of varicocele, testicular volume of affected side was not dependent on grades of varicoceles. However, rate of testicualr atrophy was dependent on grades of varicocele. However, the ratio of testicular atrophy was present in four (12.9%) of grade I, 14 (29.2%) of grade II, and 19 (41.3%) of grade III. These differences were statistically significant (p=0.028).
CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of varicocele in this population was found to 8.1%. It is important to measure the volume of both testes of an adolescent with a varicocele to determine the effect of varicocele on the testicular volume. Our findings suggest that men with higher grades of varicocele have hypertrophied testis of contralateral side.