Prevalence and incidence of bronchiectasis in Italy

Abstract

Background The understanding of the epidemiology of bronchiectasis is still affected by major limitations with very few data published worldwide. The aim of this study was to estimate the epidemiological burden of bronchiectasis in Italy in the adult population followed-up by primary care physicians. Methods This study analyzed data coming from a large primary care database with 1,054,376 subjects in the period of time 2002–2015. Patients with bronchiectasis were selected by the use of International Statistical Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modification codes (ICD-9-CM). Results Patients with bronchiectasis were more likely to have a history of tuberculosis (0.47% vs. 0.06%, p < 0.0001), had higher rates of asthma (16.6% vs. 6.2%, p < 0.0001), COPD (23.3% vs. 6.4%, p < 0.0001) and rheumatoid arthritis (1.9% vs. 0.8%, p < 0.0001). The prevalence and incidence of bronchiectasis in primary care in Italy in 2015 were 163 per 100,000 population and 16.3 per 100,000 person-years, respectively. Prevalence and incidence increased with age and overall rates were highest in men over 75 years old. Prevalence and incidence computed after the exclusion of patients with a diagnosis of either asthma or COPD is 130 per 100,000 and 11.1 cases per 100,000 person-years, respectively. Conclusions Bronchiectasis is not a rare condition in Italian adult population. Further studies are needed to confirm our results and provide a better insight on etiology of bronchiectasis in Italy. Trial registration not applicable.

Incidence of bronchiectasis concerning tuberculosis epidemiology and other ecological factors: A Korean National Cohort Study

“…Despite a relatively higher incidence of bronchiectasis in South Korea compared with Western countries, we showed that the incidence of bronchiectasis in South Korea decreased annually along with the incidence of TB. These results are surprising considering the increasing incidence of bronchiectasis in Western countries, in which the TB prevalence has remained continuously low [10,11]. We further evaluated common aetiologies of bronchiectasis other than TB.…”

“…We previously reported that the prevalence of bronchiectasis in South Korea was 464 cases per 100 000 population, which was higher than that reported in Western countries [ 1 ]. This study showed that the annual incidences of bronchiectasis were 147–229 cases per 100 000 population, which was a higher rate than the 29 cases per 100 000 population recorded in the USA [ 9 ], 21 cases per 100 000 population observed in Germany [ 10 ], and 16 cases per 100 000 population observed in Italy [ 11 ]. Despite a relatively higher incidence of bronchiectasis in South Korea compared with Western countries, we showed that the incidence of bronchiectasis in South Korea decreased annually along with the incidence of TB.…”

Increased mortality in patients with non cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis with respiratory comorbidities

“…Patients with bronchiectasis often suffer from persistent respiratory symptoms, decreased quality of life, and recurrent respiratory infection 1 . As the prevalence of bronchiectasis 2 – 7 and associated health costs 2 , 8 , 9 is increasing in many countries, this disease is becoming an emerging threat to global health 10 , 11 . However, unfortunately, these expectations are based on studies performed mostly in Western countries 10 , 11 .…”

‘It’s not one size fits all’: a qualitative study of patients’ and healthcare professionals’ views of self-management for bronchiectasis

“…4 The prevalence of bronchiectasis appears to be increasing, though true prevalence may be influenced by other factors such as improved diagnosis using HRCT and inaccurate diagnosis due to comorbidities. [5][6][7][8][9] The aim of therapeutic management is to break the recurrent cycle of inflammation and infection, to preserve lung function, reduce exacerbations and complications, and improve health-related quality-of-life. 10 11 Antibiotics are the frontline therapy for bronchiectasis and most international guidelines also recommend airway clearance techniques (ACT) and pulmonary rehabilitation (PR).…”

“…A Cochrane systematic review of self-management interventions found insufficient evidence to assess the benefits for patients with bronchiectasis 17 and added to the call for research to define and develop these interventions. 9 10 18 The aim of this study was to explore views of self-management with key stakeholders to inform the design and development of future self-management programmes.…”