萎縮性鼻炎の疫学的研究—（1）日本における萎縮性鼻炎の罹患率の調査

AN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF OZENA

　Ⅰ．序

　萎縮性鼻炎ないし臭鼻症の原因についての研究報告はたいへん多い。先人のこれらの努力にもかかわらず，いまだにこの疾患に対する明快な説明がなされ得ないことを考えると，この疾患は，非常に複雑な，そして微妙な成立機転をもつたものと思われる。

　現在まで主として議論されてきた問題は，間脳下垂体系，各種内分泌機能，自律神経機能，局所および全身的な体質とOzaenaの関係であり，一方，外からはたらきかけて，この疾患の発生をたすける条件についての探究も多い。鼻粘膜に対する刺激，細菌，栄養，気候，一般生活環境などである。

　It is generally recognized that the morbidity of Ozena to be varying according to different regions of the country which, consequently suggests the existence of regional characteristics that would influence the development of the disease.

　An attempt to find the regional incidence of this disease in this country is made and reports on the number of patients with ozena are requested from 180 hospitals distributed in 100 different regions of the country.

　The particular morbidity incidence considered in this study is the ratio of ozena affected patients to the total number of patients visiting the otolaryngological section of that hospital during a specified time and not that to the population at large. In this way a general assumption may be made as to the approximate morbidity of the disease in the population at large.

　By this means the frequency distribution was found to be a logarithmic normal.

　The geometric means of the incidence of rhinitis atrophicans including the ozena were 16.3 per 10,000 for males and 53.8 per 10,000 for females. For ozena proper it was 7.0 for males and 18.8 for females.

　From this study the author concludes that some new observations were in need to establish the exogenous factors that may influence the development of the disease.