Selected phlebological abstracts.

This elegant study examines the in fl uence of Earth ’ s gravity fi eld on the prevalence of varicose veins in a geo-physical area. The authors performed a systematic review of studies focusing on prevalence of varicose veins to determine the in fl uence of Earth ’ s gravity fi eld — GRACE GGM05S gravity model — on the disease prevalence. Areas with stronger gravity have signi fi cantly higher prevalence of varicose veins with adjustment for age, gender, and body mass index (BMI). Adjusted for age, prevalence of varicose veins in areas with gravity fi eld +20 mGal and more is 1.37 times higher than in areas with gravity fi eld less than +20 mGal, p -value 0.005 (95% CI: (cid:1) 12.5 to (cid:1) 2.4): mean disease prevalence for gravity fi eld +20 mGal and more — 27.5% (mean age, 40.1 years; mean gravity fi eld,