ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To assess the impact of physical characteristics on the incidence of varicoceles. Although previous reports have alluded to the fact that taller individuals may have a higher incidence of varicoceles, this has not been systematically studied. We hypothesized that physical characteristics such as height and weight could have a significant impact on the incidence of varicoceles. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed charts of 145 patients who presented for evaluation of varicocele between 2000~2005. Each patients' age, symptoms, height, weight and body mass index (BMI) were recorded. Independent t-tests were performed to determine whether a correlation existed between presence of a varicocele and height, weight, or BMI. Moreover, we selected 90 patients whose varicocele was detected by pain and performed the same analysis in order to exclude selection bias. Additionally, we compared varicocele grade with height, weight and BMI by one-way ANOVA test. RESULTS: Our analysis showed that there was no association between height and the presence of a varicocele. However, the weight of the patient and the incidence of varicocele approached significance with greater weight associated with a lower incidence of varicoceles. There was also an association between BMI and the presence of varicoceles but the correlation did not depended on varicocele grade. CONCLUSIONS: Although previous reports have alluded to a higher incidence of varicoceles in taller patients, the current study found no correlation between height and the presence of a varicocele. Increased weight, however, was associated with a significantly lower incidence of varicoceles. Varicocele grade was not correlated with any factor. This study demonstrates that height is not a consideration when evaluating the infertile male, whereas weight may affect the ability to diagnose the varicocele.