title: Incidence of interstitial lung diseases in the south of Spain 1998-2000: the RENIA study.
abstract: This study aims to describe the distribution of interstitial lung diseases (ILD) in the South of Spain.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective multicentre population-based registry was established in nine provinces in the south of Spain with a population of 6,848,243 during a 3-year period (1998-2000). The number of participant physicians was 36 among 29 public hospitals. The number of diagnoses recorded was 66, divided in eight categories and coded according to ICD-9. A consensus document was elaborated for the classification of diseases and their diagnostic criteria. The number of cases declared was analysed each 3 months and communicated to each one of the participants.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 744 cases of them registered with an annual incidence of 3.62 cases/ 100,000. 40.1% of diagnoses were biopsy confirmed. Men had a slightly higher incidence (4.18 cases/ 100,000/year) than women (3.07 cases/100,000/year). The most frequent diseases found were: idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (38.58%), ILD associated to systemic diseases (20.97%), and Sarcoidosis (11.69%). According to province distribution, most of the cases were grouped in an area between the provinces of Seville and Cordoba, which comprised more than 50% of cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study of the incidence of ILD depicts an intermediate situation from previous studies on the incidence and distribution of this group of diseases.
authors.affiliation: Medical-Surgical Unit of Respiratory Diseases, 'Virgen del Rocío' University Hospital, Seville, Spain. lcampos@separ.es
authors.forename: José Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: López-Campos
authors.forename: Eulogio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Becerra
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D017563:Lung Diseases, Interstitial / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D016019:Survival Analysis