engleski

Recent data on endemic nephropathy and related urothelial tumors in Croatia

Endemic nephropathy (EN) is a renal disease of unknown etiology. In Croatia it occurs in rural population in 14 villages located in the western part of Brodsko-posavska county. This region registers an unusually high incidence of otherwise rare tumors of pyelon and ureters. In 1991-2002 the average general mortality for both sexes in the endemic region was 10.3 ‰ and the specific mortality for patients with EN was 0.65 ‰ (M 0.58 ‰ , F 0.72 ‰ ). The average age of patients with EN who died was 69.2 years (M 67.7, F 70.3), which is similar to the life expectancy for the rest of the population in the county (67.8, M 64.4, F 71.8). This life expectancy is significantly higher than in the period 1957-1960 when the average EN-related death occurred in patients at the age of 45.1 years. In contrast to the whole Croatia and the respective county, from 1995 to 2002, the specific mortality with tumors of pyelon and ureters in the endemic region was much higher in women than in men (9.020 and 4.697 per 100000, respectively). The specific mortality of patients with urothelial tumors was 14 times higher than in Brodsko-posavska county and 55 times higher then in the whole of Croatia. This, much higher specific urothelial tumor mortality in women than in men (in contrast to the rest of the country) as well as the higher specific EN mortality indicate that the causative agent of both nosological entities is the same.

Endemic nephropathy; epidemiology; morbidity; mortality; pyelon; ureters

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