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. 2008 Mar;101(3):139-43.
doi: 10.1258/jrsm.2008.070306.

Trends in national incidence, lifetime prevalence and adrenaline prescribing for anaphylaxis in England

Aziz Sheikh  1 , Julia Hippisley-Cox, John Newton, Justin Fenty
Affiliations

Trends in national incidence, lifetime prevalence and adrenaline prescribing for anaphylaxis in England

Aziz Sheikh et al. J R Soc Med. 2008 Mar.

Abstract

Background: Analysis of primary healthcare datasets offers the possibility to increase understanding of the epidemiology of acute uncommon conditions such as anaphylaxis, but these datasets remain under-exploited.

Aim: To investigate recent trends in the recorded incidence, lifetime prevalence and prescribing of adrenaline for anaphylaxis in England.

Methods: QRESEARCH is one of the world's largest national aggregated health databases containing the records of over nine million patients. We extracted data on all patients with a recorded diagnosis of anaphylaxis and calculated annual age-sex standardized incidence and lifetime period prevalence rates for each year from 2001-2005. We also analysed trends in adrenaline prescribing in those with a recorded diagnosis of anaphylaxis. National population figures were used to estimate numbers of people in England that have experienced anaphylaxis at some point in their lives.

Results: The age-sex standardized incidence of anaphylaxis was 6.7 per 100,000 person-years in 2001 and increased by 19% to 7.9 in 2005. Lifetime age-sex standardized prevalence of a recorded diagnosis of anaphylaxis was 50.0 per 100,000 in 2001 and increased by 51% to 75.5 in 2005. Prescribing of adrenaline increased by 97% over this period. By the end of 2005 there were an estimated 37,800 people that had experienced anaphylaxis at some point in their lives.

Conclusions: Recorded incidence, lifetime prevalence and prescribing of adrenaline for anaphylaxis all showed substantial increases in recent years. An estimated 1 in 1,333 of the English population have at some point in their lives experienced anaphylaxis.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Age-sex variations in lifetime prevalence of anaphylaxis per 100,000 registered patients for 2001 and 2005
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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