The pathogenesis of Peyronie's disease still remains an enigma and few epidemiological studies are available. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of Peyronie's disease in males older than 50 y. From 26 to 30 July 1998, 1071 men attended the 'Prostate Cancer Awareness Week of Santa Casa Hospital, Porto Alegre, Brazil'. In the prostate exam they also consented to be screened for Peyronie's disease. They underwent the 5-item International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) questionnaire for evaluation of the erectile condition. The presence of a well-defined plaque in the penis was the diagnostic criterion for Peyronie's disease. The men were examined by five senior residents, under supervision by the staff Urologist. Men younger than 50 y as well as patients under intracavernous injection therapy for erectile dysfunction were excluded from the study. Chi2 test was used for statistical analysis. Nine hundred and fifty-four (89.1%) out of the 1071 men with a mean age of 62 y (ranging from 52 to 77) were included in the study. Peyronie's disease plaques were found in 35 men (3.67%). Eight hundred and forty-five (88.6%) were Caucasians. There was no significant statistical difference regarding age (P > 0.05). The presence of erectile dysfunction in the men with Peyronie's disease and without this condition, was 68.6% and 53.5%, respectively (P > 0.05). From this data we can conclude that the prevalence of Peyronie's disease is higher than in formerly reported studies. Further observations should be carried out in different communities and in other groups of patients in order to confirm our results.

中文翻译：

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巴西南部50岁以上男性的佩罗尼氏病患病率。

佩罗尼氏病的发病机制仍然是一个谜，很少有流行病学研究可用。本研究的目的是确定50岁以上男性佩罗尼氏病的患病率。从1998年7月26日至30日，有1071名男子参加了“巴西阿雷格里港圣卡萨医院的前列腺癌宣传周”。在前列腺检查中，他们还同意接受佩罗尼氏病的筛查。他们接受了5项国际勃起功能指数（IIEF-5）问卷，以评估勃起状况。阴茎中清晰可见的斑块的存在是佩罗尼氏病的诊断标准。在工作人员泌尿科医师的监督下，对这五名老人进行了检查。该研究不包括年龄小于50岁的男性以及接受海绵体内注射治疗的勃起功能障碍患者。Chi2检验用于统计分析。这项研究包括了1071名平均年龄为62岁（52岁至77岁）的男性中的504名（89.1％）。在35名男性中发现了佩罗尼氏菌斑（3.67％）。八百四十五（88.6％）是白种人。年龄无统计学差异（P> 0.05）。患有佩罗尼氏病且无此疾病的男性的勃起功能障碍分别为68.6％和53.5％（P> 0.05）。从这些数据可以得出结论，佩罗尼氏病的患病率高于以前报道的研究。