Abstract: Objective To explore the etiology of ascites,its gender and age distribution.Methods The clinical data of 111 patients with ascites of unknown cause were retrospectively analyzed.Results In 111 patients, 53 cases were males and 58 cases females with an average age of (54.7±13.2) years, including 44 cases with malignancy (39.6%), 40 cases with liver cirrhosis (36.0%), 18 cases with tuberculous peritonitis (16.2%), 6 cases with uncommon diseases and 3 cases with acatalepsy. In youth group (<40 years), there were 10 cases of tuberculous peritonitis, 2 cases of malignancy and 2 cases of liver cirrhosis. In middle-aged group (40-60 years), there were 19 cases of malignancy, 16 cases of liver cirrhosis and 5 cases of tuberculous peritonitis; In elderly group (≥60 years), there were 23 cases of malignancy, 22 cases of liver cirrhosis and 3 cases of tuberculous peritonitis.Conclusion The top three causes of ascites are malignancy, liver cirrhosis and tuberculous peritonitis. The most common cause in youth group is tuberculous peritonitis, the main causes in elderly group are malignant tumor and liver cirrhosis. Liver cirrhosis is more common in male patients. There is no gender difference in other causes of ascites.

Key words: ascites, pathological conditions, signs and symptoms, etiology