Prevalence of inguinal hernia in otherwise healthy males of 20 to 22 years of age.

Twenty-seven thousand four hundred and eight adult males between 20 and 22 years of age who were otherwise healthy were examined to detect inguinal hernias. Eight hundred and eighty-five (3.2%) inguinal hernia cases were detected. These were 479 (54.1%) right inguinal hernias, 351 (39.7%) left inguinal hernias and 55 (6.2%) bilateral inguinal hernias. One hundred and eighty-five (20.9%) subjects reported first degree relatives and 147 (16.6%) subjects reported second degree relatives with inguinal hernias. It is concluded that these results may be a useful guide for future studies about the prevalence of inguinal hernias in the populations as a whole and suggest a familial predisposition.