title: The epidemiology of interstitial lung diseases.
abstract: Little epidemiologic data are available on the occurrence of interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) in the general population. To describe the prevalence and incidence of ILDs a population-based registry of patients with ILDs was established in Bernalillo County, New Mexico in October 1988. All patients 18 yr of age and older who had a clinical diagnosis of an ILD were identified during the period 10/1/88 through 9/30/90 from physician referrals, hospital discharge diagnoses, histopathology reports, and death certificates. In addition, the prevalence of preclinical or undiagnosed cases was identified by screening lung specimens from 510 autopsy cases. A total of 2,936 referrals were screened; 8.8% were prevalent cases and 6.9% were incident cases. Overall, the prevalence of ILDs was 20% higher in males (80.9 per 100,000) than in females (67.2 per 100,000). Similarly the overall incidence of ILDs was slightly more common in males (31.5 per 100,000/year) than females (26.1 per 100,000/year). The estimated prevalence of preclinical or undiagnosed ILDs among all deaths was 1.8%. The most common incident diagnosed among both sexes were pulmonary fibrosis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, together accounting for 46.2% of all ILD diagnoses in males and 44.2% in females. We conclude that the occurrence of ILDs in the general population may be more common than previous estimates based on selected populations, and these disorders may frequently be unrecognized.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Cancer Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Coultas
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Zumwalt
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Black
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Sobonya
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001344:Autopsy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001706:Biopsy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D017563:Lung Diseases, Interstitial / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009516:New Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012042:Registries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017678:Sex Distribution