Epidemiological studies in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: pitfalls in methodologies and data interpretation

Abstract

Data on incidence, prevalence and mortality of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are sparse and vary across studies. The true incidence and prevalence of the disease are unknown. In general, the overall prevalence and incidence reported in European and Asian countries are lower than those reported in American studies. In recent years, the epidemiological approach to IPF has been difficult for many reasons. First, the diagnostic criteria of the disease have changed over time. Secondly, the coding system used for IPF in administrative databases, the most common data source used to study this aspect of the disease, has been modified in the past few years. Finally, the study design, the methodology and the population selected in each of the studies are very different. All these aspects make comparisons among studies very difficult or impossible. In this review, we list the main issues that might arise when comparing different studies and that should be taken into consideration when describing the state of epidemiological knowledge concerning this pathology. @ERSpublications An accurate understanding of IPF epidemiology is important; comparisons of studies must consider their heterogeneity

[Nintedanib for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in Italy]

“…Ne deriva che la reale prevalenza ed incidenza dell'IPF non può essere stabilita con certezza [2]. Alcune recenti revisioni della letteratura [3,4] hanno evidenziato i diversi punti di forza e debolezza dei vari studi, del loro disegno e le principali problematiche che possono emergere, quando vengono effettuati dei confronti tra i differenti studi, rendendo pertanto difficile o impossibile giungere ad incidenze e prevalenze globali e stimare la mortalità attraverso metanalisi. L'incidenza più bassa è stata trovata in Asia, seguita dall'Europa (UE) e gli Stati Uniti (US) [2,5].…”

“…Il trial CAPACITY del 2011 [63] [6,57] 1 Grado di confidenza moderato sull'effetto stimato (+ + + -) 2 Grado di confidenza basso sull'effetto stimato (+ + --) 3 Grado di confidenza molto basso sull'effetto stimato (+ ---)…”

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in East Asian

“…The true incidence and prevalence of IPF have not been accurately determined because of the lack of a uniform definition, diagnostic criteria, and differences in methodologies and populations in previous studies (4). However, the 2001 ATS/ERS consensus statement offers an opportunity for more precise epidemiologic studies.…”

Rare pulmonary diseases and orphan drugs: where do we stand and where are we going to?

“…ADIR et al [12] discuss the epidemiology, pathogenic mechanisms and treatment approaches of the different causes of pulmonary hypertension in the setting of chronic myeloproliferative disorders: chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, pre-capillary pulmonary hypertension mimicking pulmonary arterial hypertension and drug-induced pulmonary hypertension. CAMINATI et al [13] add important information to our knowledge regarding pitfalls in methodologies and data interpretation in epidemiological studies on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and analyse the main issues that should be carefully considered when comparing different studies. MARGARITOPOULOS et al [14] present an overview of what's new in smoking-related lung diseases.…”