Prevalence of Dupuytren’s contracture and its correlation with degenerative changes of the hands and feet and with criteria of general health

The prevalence of Dupuytren’s contracture and its coincidence with degenerative changes in the hands and feet as well as loss of distal pulses, were studied in 574 55-year-old residents of Mahnii, Sweden. Dupuytren’s contra&we occurred in 6 % of the subjects studied, predominantly in men. Dupuytren’s contra&we was more common in men with degenerative changes in the feet and in men with signs of impaired arterial blood flow in the lower limbs. Men with Dupuytren’s contractme had signiiicantly less subcutaneous fat tissue, as measured by a triceps skinfold index, than men without Dupuytren’s contracture. Other signs of general health, occupational work load or psychosocial factors did not interact with Dupuytren’s contracture in the current study. Journal of Hand Surgery (British and European It has been suggested that subjects with diabetes mellitus have a higher incidence of Dupuytren’s contracture (Lawson et al, 1983; Noble et al, 1984; Jennings et al, 1989). According to Ling (1963), Dupuytren’s contracture is inherited in an autosomal, dominant pattern and ther