Prevalence of aortic aneurysms in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, 1979-84.

The discharge summaries for Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area residents hospitalized during 1979-84 were reviewed for diagnoses of aortic aneurysms. Annual age-specific and age-adjusted sex-specific hospital discharge diagnosis rates were calculated for all aortic aneurysms, dissecting aortic aneurysms, thoracic aortic aneurysms (nondissecting), and abdominal aortic aneurysms (nondissecting). For each aortic aneurysm type, hospital discharge diagnosis rates were found to increase with age for both men and women. Abdominal aortic aneurysms were the most common type reported (age-adjusted annual rates for men varied between 40.6 and 49.3 per 100,000 population; for women, between 6.8 and 12.0 per 100,000 population). Men were noted to have higher rates for each aneurysm type. An increasing temporal trend was observed for all aortic aneurysms and abdominal aortic aneurysms among men. These findings are reviewed in light of recent data on mortality from aortic aneurysms in the United States.