Epidemiology and clinical characteristics of chronic venous disease in Romania

Chronic venous disorder (CVD) is a complex disease, that affects millions of people worldwide, and due to the fact that in its early stages is often overlooked by healthcare providers and ignored by the patient, the assessment of incidence and prevalence of CVD is difficult to be made. The aim of this project was to assess the CVD prevalence, risk factors and clinical characteristics in the adult population in Romania. A cross-sectional survey was carried out in Romania from June 2015 to July 2015, including 185 general practitioners (GPs). Data regarding patient characteristics, risk factors, family medical history, CVD signs and symptoms, C-classification, and pharmacological management of CVD were collected. The study included 7,210 patients, predominantly female (71.0%), with the mean age of 58.2 years. Within the study population, 2,271 (31.5%) patients had already the CVD diagnosis established prior to the study visit, while for 2,664 (36.9%) patients, CVD was diagnosed during the visit, while for the rest of the patients, 2,275 (31.6%), CVD diagnosis was not established prior or during the study visit. Age, female, sex and previous pregnancies were major risk factors for developing CVD. The newly diagnosed CVD rate was 36.9% and the directly calculated CVD prevalence in June-July 2015 was 68.4%, while the indirectly calculated CVD prevalence was 80.7%. CVD is a very common disease, with a prevalence of CVD within the study population in June-July 2015 of 68.4%. The newly diagnosed CVD cases represent 36.9% of patients included in this study, nevertheless both parameters could be underestimated, as long as a significant percentage of patients presenting symptoms, but no CVD signs, were not considered by GPs as CVD cases.