What is the connection between tall skinny white males and spontaneous pneumothorax?

Question

after having a spontaneous pneumothorax, my son was told that it almost always occurs in tall, skinny, white males

Answer 1

This is an excerpt from the Wikipedia article:

"Spontaneous pneumothoraces are reported in young people with a tall stature. As men are generally taller than women, there is a preponderance among males. The reason for this association, while unknown, is hypothesized to be the presence of subtle abnormalities in connective tissue. Some spontaneous pneumothoraces however, are results of "blebs", blister like structures on the surface of the lung, that rupture allowing the escape of air into the pleural cavity."

It mentions gender and height, but not race.  Here's a link to the full article that may be helpful:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumothora...