title: Descriptive epidemiology of Kawasaki disease in Japan, 2011-2012: from the results of the 22nd nationwide survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The number of patients and incidence rate of Kawasaki disease (KD) are increasing in Japan. We have therefore characterized the latest epidemiological information on KD.
  
  
  METHODS
  The 22nd nationwide survey of KD, which targeted patients diagnosed with KD in 2011 and 2012, was conducted in 2013 and included a total of 1983 departments and hospitals. In order to report on all patients with KD during the 2 survey years, we targeted hospitals of 100 beds or more with pediatric departments, or specialized pediatric hospitals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From a total of 1420 hospitals and departments (71.6% response rate), 26,691 KD patients were reported (12,774 in 2011 and 13,917 in 2012; 15,442 males and 11,249 females). The annual incidence rates were 243.1 per 100,000 population aged 0 to 4 years in 2011 and 264.8 in 2012. The number of cases of KD recorded in 2012 was the highest ever reported in Japan. The incidence rate of complete cases was also the highest ever reported in Japan and contributed to the increase in the rate of total cases in recent years. The number of patients diagnosed per month peaked in January, and additional peaks were noted during summer months, although these peaks were lower than those seen in winter. Age-specific incidence rate showed a monomodal distribution with a peak in the latter half of the year in which patients were born.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The number of patients and the incidence rate of KD in Japan continue to increase. A similar trend has also been seen for patients with complete KD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Jichi Medical University.
authors.forename: Nobuko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Makino
authors.forename: Yosikazu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Mayumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yashiro
authors.forename: Ryusuke
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ae
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsuboi
authors.forename: Yasuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Aoyama
authors.forename: Takao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kojo
authors.forename: Ritei
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Uehara
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kotani
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yanagawa
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009080:Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution