EoE Module 1 References-Dellon et al Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2014 Prevalence of EoE in the US

Dellon et al Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2014 Prevalence of EoE in the US

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Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) is a significant cause of upper gastrointestinal disorders in both children and adults, but comprehensive data on its nationwide prevalence in the United States has been limited. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of EoE using health insurance claims from a large nationwide database between 2008 and 2011.<br /><br />The study identified cases of EoE through the International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision code 530.13. Among 35,575,388 individuals, 16,405 had EoE. The average age of EoE patients was 33.5 years, with a male predominance (65%). A significant portion of these patients also had dysphagia (55.8%) and at least one allergic condition (52.8%).<br /><br />From a subset of continuously insured individuals (11,569,217 persons) between mid-2009 and mid-2011, 6,513 patients were identified with EoE. Standardizing these findings to the U.S. population, the estimated period prevalence for EoE was 56.7 per 100,000 persons, equating to approximately 152,152 cases nationwide. The prevalence was notably higher in males, particularly in the age group of 35–39 years.<br /><br />The study's results align with previous smaller-scale research, indicating the prevalence of EoE in children ranges between 43 and 91 per 100,000, while in adults, it is around 23 to 55 per 100,000. The present study's prevalence estimate of 56.7 per 100,000 is significant, approaching the prevalence of pediatric inflammatory bowel diseases.<br /><br />The authors acknowledge potential limitations, including possible underreporting or misclassification. However, they note the high specificity (99%) of the ICD-9 code validation process. They also performed sensitivity analyses excluding certain conditions and requiring multiple instances of the diagnosis code, which did not significantly change the results.<br /><br />This study concludes that while EoE is a relatively newly recognized disease, its prevalence in the U.S. is considerable and comparable to other well-known gastrointestinal disorders. This highlights the importance of accurate diagnosis and recognition of EoE as a critical public health issue.

Keywords

Eosinophilic Esophagitis

EoE prevalence

gastrointestinal disorders

health insurance claims

ICD-9 code 530.13

dysphagia

allergic conditions

nationwide database

public health

U.S. population