The Prevalence of Peyronie's Disease in the United States: A Population-Based Study.

Dan Glass,Mark Stuntz,Anna Perlaky,David J. Handelsman,Tassos Kyriakides,Franka des Vignes

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0150157

Dan Glass, Mark Stuntz + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0150157

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Journal: PloS one	Publication Date: Feb 23, 2016
Citations: 98	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Deerfield (United States), Analytical Services

Abstract

Peyronie’s disease (PD) is a connective tissue disorder which can result in penile deformity. The prevalence of diagnosed PD in the United States (US) has been estimated to be 0.5% in adult males, but there is limited additional information comparing definitive and probable PD cases. We conducted a population-based survey to assess PD prevalence using a convenience-sample of adult men participating in the ResearchNow general population panel. Respondents were categorized according to PD status (definitive, probable, no PD) and segmented by US geographic region, education, and income levels. Of the 7,711 respondents, 57 (0.7%) had definitive PD while 850 (11.0%) had probable PD. Using univariate logistic regression modeling, older age (18–24 vs 24+) (OR = 0.721; 95% CI = 0.570,0.913), Midwest/Northeast/West geographic region (South vs Midwest/Northeast/West) (OR = 0.747; 95% CI = 0.646,0.864), and higher income level (<25K vs 25K+) (OR = 0.820; 95% CI = 0.673,0.997) were each significantly associated with reduced odds of having a definitive/probable PD diagnosis compared with no PD diagnosis. When all three variables were entered in a stepwise multivariable logistic regression, only age (OR = 0.642; 95% CI = 0.497, 0.828) and region (OR = 0.752; 95% CI = 0.647, 0.872) remained significant. This study is the first to report PD prevalence by geographic region and income, and it advocates that the prevalence of PD in the US may be higher than previously cited. Further, given the large discrepancy between definitive PD cases diagnosed by a physician and probable cases not diagnosed by a physician, much more needs to be done to raise awareness of this disease.

Highlights

Peyronie’s disease (PD), described by and named after Francois Gigot de la Peyronie, is a localized connective tissue disorder that arises from plaque formation, caused by the deposition of collagen and fibrin in the tunica albuginea of the penis [1,2]
Respondents who were attributed a Probable/ Definitive PD diagnosis were: (a) less likely to have been in the 24+ age group (OR = 0.721; 95%CI = 0.57,0.913); (b) less likely to be in non-South regions of the country (OR = 0.747; 95% CI = 0.646,0.864; (c) less likely to be in the $25K income level (OR = 0.820; 95% CI = 0.673, 0.997)
Estimating the prevalence of PD presents a challenge as patients may hesitate to discuss their symptoms with a physician

Summary

Introduction

Peyronie’s disease (PD), described by and named after Francois Gigot de la Peyronie, is a localized connective tissue disorder that arises from plaque formation, caused by the deposition of collagen and fibrin in the tunica albuginea of the penis [1,2]. This fibrous plaque replaces the normally elastic fibers and can result in penile deformity. This study sent a validated questionnaire survey to 8000 men ages 30–80 years in the greater Cologne region; a total of 142 (3.2%) of the respondents (n = 4,432) reported palpable plaque, which, from the previous validation, was the most sensitive question and the main symptom of the disease. Assess whether associations exist between prevalence of PD and geographic region, age, or income level

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