Prevalence estimates for chronic urticaria in the United States: A sex- and age-adjusted population analysis

Abstract

Background: Disease burden in chronic urticaria (CU) is poorly understood.

Objective: To estimate standardized overall and sex-, age-, and race-specific prevalence estimates for CU among adults in the United States.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis with electronic health records data for a demographically heterogeneous population-based sample of >55 million patients across all 4 census regions.

Results: The overall CU prevalence was 0.23%, or 230 CU cases/100,000 adults. The adjusted prevalence in women was 310 (95% confidence interval [CI] 307-312) cases/100,000 adults, more than twice that of men (146 [95% CI 143-148] cases/100,000 adults, P < .001). CU prevalence was highest among patients aged 40-49 years (256 [95% CI 252-261] cases/100,000 adults) and 50-59 years (246 [95% CI 242-251] cases/100,000 adults) compared with all other age groups (P < .0001). Adjusted prevalences for black (292 [95% CI 285-298] cases/100,000 adults) and other (331 [95% CI 323-338] cases/100,000 adults) patients were higher than that for white patients (262 [95% CI 260-264] cases/100,000 adults; P < .001).

Limitations: Use of administrative data has the potential to underestimate burden.

Conclusion: There are >500,000 people estimated to have CU in the United States, most of whom are women or adults ≥40 years of age.

Keywords: Explorys; burden of disease; chronic urticaria; population-based; prevalence; urticaria.