Incidence of bullous pemphigoid in Sweden 2005–2012: a nationwide population-based cohort study of 3761 patients

Studies that report the incidence of bullous pemphigoid from validated nationwide population-based registries are rare. The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence of bullous pemphigoid in Sweden 2005–2012. A population-based open cohort study was designed including all patients diagnosed by a dermatologist with bullous pemphigoid (BP) in Sweden from 2005 to 2012 (n = 3761), identified from the National Patient Register (NPR). The diagnosis of bullous pemphigoid in the NPR was recently validated from medical records, histopathological and immunopathological data by our group in a previous study. The average annual incidence of bullous pemphigoid was 7.1/100,000 (95% CI 6.5–7.7). Female to male ratio was 1.2:1, mean age at diagnosis was 78.9 years. The age-specific incidence rate increased markedly after 80 years of age with an incidence peak between 90 and 99 years of age, 81.9/100,000 (95% CI 75.0–89.2). This large nationwide cohort study presents an adjusted incidence of BP of 7.1/100,000 (95% CI 6.5–7.7) in Sweden. The incidence of bullous pemphigoid is higher than expected and bullous pemphigoid is a common disease in the elderly population.