Inguinal hernia in patients with congenital dislocation of the hip. A sign of general connective tissue disorder.

During a 5-year period, all the children born in Malmö, Sweden, were examined for congenital dislocation of the hip (CDH) and for inguinal hernia. Girls with CDH had a hernia five times more frequently than other girls, and boys with CDH three times more frequently. The children with CDH sustained their hernia abnormally early in life. We suggest that relaxin, which stimulates collagenase, could alter the connective tissue and be of importance for the development of both CDH and the hernia.