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Hidradenitis suppurativa incidence higher in women, young adults, blacks

Incidence of hidradenitis suppurativa has increased over the past decade, with disproportionally higher incidences in women, young adults and blacks, according to study results published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Researchers conducted a retrospective cohort analysis in October 2016, using electronic health records data to identify cases of incident hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) among a heterogeneous population-based sample of more than 48 million unique patients in the United States. They calculated the 1-year and 10-year cumulative incidences for the overall population and for sex-, age- and race-specific groups.

During a 1-year period from October 2015 to October 2016, there were 5,410 new HS cases, with an incidence rate of 11. 4 (95% CI, 11.1-11.8) per 100,000 population.

Women had a 1-year incidence rate of 16.1 (95% CI, 15.5-16.6) per 100,000 compared with a rate of 6.8 (95% CI, 6.5-7.2) per 100,000 in men (P < .001).

Patients aged 18 to 29 years had the highest age group-specific incidence of 22 (95% CI, 21-23.2) per 100,000.

Blacks had an incidence rate that was more than 2.5 times greater than whites (30.6 vs. 11.7 per 100,000; P < .0001).

There was an average annual overall incidence of 8.6 (95% CI, 8.6-8.7) per 100,000 population over 10 years, from 2006 to 2016.

“One-year incidences for the overall population and across demographic groups were generally higher than average annual incidences for HS over the past 10 years, which suggests that HS incidence has increased over the past decade,” the researchers wrote. “HS incidence disproportionally impacts women, persons 18 to 20 years of age and [blacks].”  – by Bruce Thiel

Disclosure: Garg reports serving as an adviser for AbbVie and having received honoraria. The

other researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.