Why Are Varicose Vein Cases Increasing Worldwide? The Data Behind the Trend

Varicose veins affect approximately 20 to 25% of adults worldwide — and the numbers are growing. In South Korea, national health insurance data shows patient numbers increased by 57% between 2017 and 2021, reaching nearly 378,000 annual cases. What is driving this trend, and what does it mean for you?

1. Aging Populations

Varicose veins are strongly age-dependent. Venous valve leaflets accumulate mechanical wear over decades, and vein walls progressively lose elasticity as the extracellular matrix degrades with age. Prevalence rises sharply after 50. In Korea's national data, patients aged 50 to 60 account for over 52% of all varicose vein cases. As populations across East Asia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East age rapidly, the baseline pool of people at risk expands every year.

2. Sedentary and Prolonged-Standing Work Environments

Two categories of workers face elevated risk: those who stand for hours daily (nurses, teachers, chefs, retail workers, hairdressers, flight attendants) and those who sit for extended periods (office workers, programmers, drivers). Both postures impair the calf muscle pump — the primary mechanism by which venous blood is propelled upward against gravity. The global shift toward service-sector and desk-based employment means a larger proportion of working-age adults spend their days in exactly the posture most harmful to venous health.

3. Rising Obesity Rates

Increased body weight raises hydrostatic pressure on leg veins directly (through increased gravitational load) and indirectly (through elevated intra-abdominal pressure that impedes venous return). Global obesity rates have roughly tripled since 1975 according to WHO data — a trend that closely tracks the rise in chronic venous disease prevalence across all age groups.

4. Female Hormonal Factors

Women develop varicose veins at two to three times the rate of men. Estrogen and progesterone relax vascular smooth muscle, reducing the structural resistance of vein walls to distension. Every pregnancy adds cumulative risk through increased blood volume, uterine compression of pelvic veins, and hormonal changes. As women increasingly delay childbearing to older ages — when baseline venous elasticity has already declined — the female-predominant burden of varicose vein disease continues to grow.

5. Improved Diagnosis and Awareness

Some portion of the apparent increase reflects improved detection rather than true disease increase. The wider availability of duplex ultrasound means that cases previously misattributed to "tired legs," "eczema," or "restless legs syndrome" are now being correctly identified as venous disease.

6. Genetic Predisposition in an Aging Cohort

Large genetic studies — including an 810,000-person genome-wide association study published in Nature Communications in 2022 — have confirmed that varicose vein susceptibility is substantially heritable. As the genetically predisposed segment of the population ages into the decade of highest incidence, caseloads naturally increase in proportion.

What This Means for You

Varicose veins are neither a niche condition nor a disease of the elderly alone. The symptoms — heavy legs, ankle swelling, skin changes, nocturnal cramps — are frequently misattributed to other causes, leading to years of unnecessary suffering and avoidable disease progression.

If you have any of the risk factors described above — family history, age over 40, female sex, pregnancy history, occupational standing or sitting, or obesity — a baseline duplex ultrasound evaluation is a clinically justified step, even in the absence of visible veins.

Data sources: Korea HIRA | Korea National Health Insurance Corporation | WHO Global Health Observatory | Ahmed WU et al. Nature Communications, 2022