RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The epidemiology of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) in Spain is still poorly known. In fact, remarkable differences between areas have been found. METHODS: The epidemiology of PBC was investigated in the South area of the city and the province of Granada from 1976 through 1989. Several clinical and epidemiological data were collected from 25 patients who met the criteria for PBC and the yearly incidence and prevalence were calculated. RESULTS: The ages of patients which PBC ranged from 31 to 74 years (mean age 50 +/- 10.5); 88% were females and 28% were diagnosed in the asymptomatic phase of the disease. The incidence for the study period was variable, with a maximum of 6.8 cases/million and an overall yearly incidence rate of 4.1 +/- 2.3 cases/million (7.1 +/- 4.3 cases/million for females). When the risk population was considered (people over 25 years) the respective values were 11.5 and 6.9 +/- 3.7 cases/million (12.1 +/- 7.2 cases/million for females). The prevalence showed a progressive increase, being 36.4 cases/million at the end of the study; for the "risk" population it was 61.5/million (100 cases/million for females). CONCLUSIONS: Incidence and prevalence of PBC in the area of study are within medium and medium-high values for Spain and Europe. As in other studies, personal environmental or social factors with epidemiological significance were not identified.
