Increasing bronchiectasis prevalence in Germany, 2009-2017: a population-based cohort study.

Abstract

Bronchiectasis is a chronic airway disease with often disabling symptoms, which is associated with excess mortality and a substantial economic burden for healthcare systems [1]. Although considered to be one of the most neglected diseases in respiratory medicine [2], bronchiectasis is apparently more common than previously thought [3, 4]. While trends regarding its epidemiology have been published for the UK and the US, with marked increases in prevalence rates reported [5–7], such studies are missing for most countries including Germany. However, these basic epidemiologic data are needed in order to inform healthcare authorities and policy makers regarding resource allocation and requirements planning. Thus, the objective of the present study was to provide insights into the trends of bronchiectasis prevalence in Germany. Footnotes This manuscript has recently been accepted for publication in the European Respiratory Journal . It is published here in its accepted form prior to copyediting and typesetting by our production team. After these production processes are complete and the authors have approved the resulting proofs, the article will move to the latest issue of the ERJ online. Please open or download the PDF to view this article. Conflict of interest: Dr. Ringshausen reports grants, personal fees and other from Bayer HealthCare, grants, personal fees and other from Grifols Germany, grants, personal fees and other from Insmed Germany, personal fees from Astra Zeneca, personal fees and other from Chiesi, grants, personal fees and other from Novartis, grants and other from InfectoPharm, other from Vertex, other from Parion, other from Celtaxsys, other from Corbus, other from GSK, grants from Polyphor, personal fees and other from Boehringer Ingelheim, personal fees and other from Zambon, grants from Baslilea, other from Algipharma, outside the submitted work. Conflict of interest: Dr. Rademacher reports grants and personal fees from Bayer Health care, grants and personal fees from Insmed, grants and personal fees from Grifols, personal fees from MSD Sharp & Dohme, personal fees from Astra Zeneca, personal fees from Chiesi, outside the submitted work; . Conflict of interest: Dr. Pink reports grants from PROGNOSIS, during the conduct of the study; grants from Infectopharm, from Bayer , from Insmed, from Grifols, during the conduct of the study; personal fees and non-financial support from Berlin Chemie, personal fees and non-financial support from Boehringer Ingelheim, personal fees and non-financial support from Chiesi , outside the submitted work. Conflict of interest: Dr. de Roux has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: Lennart Hickstein has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: Tina Ploner has nothing to disclose. Conflict of interest: Dr. Welte reports grants from Grifols, Insmed, Novartis, personal fees from Grifols, Insmed, Novartis, outside the submitted work. Conflict of interest: Dr. Diel reports grants and personal fees from Bayer Vital, personal fees from Insmed Inc., outside the submitted work.