Incidence of anaphylaxis in the city of Alcorcon (Spain): a population-based study

Abstract

Background: Relatively few studies have examined the incidence of anaphylaxis in the general population.

Objective: To report the incidence of anaphylaxis among the general population of the city of Alcorcon, Spain, using various public health care databases.

Methods: Episodes of anaphylaxis were recovered using validated alphanumeric strings in different fields of electronic clinical records used in the different public health settings in the city of Alcorcon (primary care, Emergency Department, hospitalized patients and Allergy Outpatient Clinic). Patients with anaphylaxis were tracked across the different clinical settings in Alcorcon.

Results: The incidence of anaphylaxis in Alcorcon was 103.37 episodes per 100 000 person-years (total standardized incidence rate of 112.2). There was a peak of 313.58 episodes in the 0-4 years age group and a different distribution of incidence rates (although non-significant) among different age groups between male patients and female patients. In most age groups, incidence tended to be higher for female patients aged over 10 years. Patients were attended at two or more levels in 76.78% of episodes, and a new evaluation was often made at a primary care centre (71.43%), Allergy Outpatient Clinic (75.6%), or both after the episode (58.93%).

Conclusion and clinical relevance: This study revealed a higher rate of anaphylaxis than that in previous studies, although this incidence rate is probably lower than the real incidence rate. Studies exploring potential methodological, genetic and environmental factors accounting for these higher rates of anaphylaxis are required.