How common is Dupuytren's disease?

Dupuytren's disease most commonly affects people of northern European heritage. It is rare in people of African or Asian descent. Heredity is thought to be a factor, since Dupuytren's disease tends to occur most often among close family members.

The risk of Dupuytren's disease increases with age: it occurs most often in people age 50 and older.¹ Men are 7 to 15 times more likely than are women to have severe Dupuytren's disease that requires surgical treatment. Older women often develop a milder form of the disease.² Dupuytren's disease is very rare in children.

Up to 30% of men older than 65 with a Northern European genetic background will have Dupuytren's disease.³

Citations

1. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and American Academy of Pediatrics (2001). Dupuytren disease. In WB Greene, ed., Essentials of Musculoskeletal Care, 2nd ed., pp. 235–236. Rosemont, IL: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

2. Saar JD, Grothaus PC (2000). Dupuytren's disease: An overview. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 106(1): 125–134.

3. Brown AN, Gilkeson GS (2005). Fibrosing diseases: Diabetic stiff hand syndrome, Dupuytren's contracture, palmar and plantar fasciitis, retroperitoneal fibrosis, and Peyronie's disease. In WJ Koopman, LW Moreland, eds., Arthritis and Allied Conditions: A Textbook of Rheumatology, 15th ed., vol. 2, pp. 2093–2108. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.