For details see prevalence of types of Adrenal disorders analysis; summary of available prevalence data:
16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the prevalence and/or incidence of Adrenal disorders.
Adrenal hypofunction occurs when more than 90% of both adrenal glands are destroyed, an occurrence that typically results from an autoimmune process in which circulating antibodies react specifically against the adrenal tissue. Other causes include tuberculosis (once the chief cause; now responsible for less than 10% of adult cases), bilateral adrenalectomy, hemorrhage into the adrenal gland, neoplasms, and infections (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, histoplasmosis, and cytomegalovirus). Rarely, a familial tendency to autoimmune disease predisposes the patient to adrenal hypofunction and other endocrinopathies.
Secondary adrenal hypofunction that results in glucocorticoid deficiency can stem from hypopituitarism (causing decreased corticotropin secretion), abrupt withdrawal of long-term corticosteroid therapy (long-term exogenous corticosteroid stimulation suppresses pituitary corticotropin secretion and results in adrenal gland atrophy), or removal of a nonendocrine, corticotropin-secreting tumor. Adrenal crisis follows when trauma, surgery, or other physiologic stress exhausts the body’s stores of glucocorticoids in a person with adrenal hypofunction.
Adrenal hypofunction affects 1 in 16,000 neonates congenitally. In adults, it affects 8 in 100,000 people, and males and females are affected equally. There’s no racial predilection.
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
The term 'prevalence' of Adrenal disorders usually refers to the estimated population
of people who are managing Adrenal disorders at any given time.
The term 'incidence' of Adrenal disorders refers to the annual diagnosis rate,
or the number of new cases of Adrenal disorders diagnosed each year.
Hence, these two statistics types can differ:
a short-lived disease like flu can have high annual incidence but low prevalence,
but a life-long disease like diabetes has a low annual incidence but high prevalence.
For more information see about prevalence and incidence statistics.
Footnotes:
1. Rose and Mackay, 1998, The Autoimmune Diseases, Third Edition
What do you think about the features of this website? Take our user survey and have your say:
Next articles:
Tools & Services:
Medical Articles:
Search Specialists by State and City
By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use. Information provided on this site is for informational purposes only; it is not intended as a substitute for advice from your own medical team. The information on this site is not to be used for diagnosing or treating any health concerns you may have - please contact your physician or health care professional for all your medical needs. Please see our Terms of Use.
Copyright © 2009 Health Grades Inc. All rights reserved.
There are a variety of different treatments that can help control eczema. The therapies can come as creams, ointments or even as pills. However, not...
When prostate cancer no longer responds to hormonal therapy, it is called hormone refractory prostate cancer. Learn who's at risk for this stage...
Learn about hormone refractory prostate cancer and the current treatments that have can help improve quality of life.
Health insurance is important to everyone, especially people with chronic conditions like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Tune in to...