Epidemiological investigation of Rendu-Osler disease in France: Its geographical distribution and prevalence
The geographical dimension of epidemiology is as useful in demography as in medicine. By following the progress of a disease on a map, demographers can trace migration waves and in particular, matrimonial migrations if they carry genetic disorders with them. Thus J. Sutter’s [**] research on the incidence of the congenital dislocation of the hip threw light on endogamy in the Bigouden area.
By determining the area in which the disease is prevalent, physicians can locate one or more areas of geographical concentration undoubtedly caused by genetic mutations which would permit them to organize an efficient system of detection and cure. In the article, the two advantages of an epidemiological investigation of Rendu-Osler disease, a rare illness to which the reader’s attention has already been drawn by Alain Bideau, Henri Plauchu, Guy Brunet and Jacques-Michel Robert [***] in Population1, are clearly outlined.