Guillain-Barré Syndrome Incidence in a Large United States Cohort (2000–2009)

Abstract

Background/Aim: We describe the incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in a large United States cohort. Methods: Between 2000 and 2009, we identified visits with an ICD-9 code for GBS (357.0) from all persons with continuous enrollment for at least 1 year. The primary case definition was restricted to emergency department and inpatient visits. We calculated age-standardized rates and used multivariate Poisson regression to assess variation in rates by sex, age, season and year of diagnosis. We tabulated descriptive characteristics and the positive predictive value (PPV) for a subset of the visits with available medical record review. Results: 1,619 visits with the GBS ICD-9 code were identified from 50,290,898 person-years of observation. After considering the PPV (55%) for record-reviewed visits, the age-standardized incidence rate was approximately 1.72/100,000 person-years. The rate was 40% higher for males and increased by 50% for every 10-year increase in age. The rate was 15% higher in winter and spring compared with summer. Rates were higher in more recent years. Conclusions: GBS rates are higher in males and increase considerably with age. The potential reasons for differences in rates by season and the increased rates in more recent years should be further investigated.

International collaboration to assess the risk of Guillain Barré Syndrome following Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 monovalent vaccines

“…Previous findings of increased risk in males as well as increasing risk with increasing age were also supported in our analyses [36]. The background incidence of GBS has also been shown to be about 40% higher in males than in females and to increase with increasing age [37].…”

A Multicentric Prospective Incidence Study of Guillain-Barré Syndrome in Italy. The ITANG Study

“…High rates were reported for winter in cold regions and for spring in mild climate areas [30]. GBS incidence was 15% higher in winter and spring compared with summer in the United States [31], while no seasonal pattern of GBS was reported by Hughes and Rees [32]. Our multicenter study showed a seasonal trend with peaks in January and February 2011, possibly in relation to viral infection or vaccination.…”

A 15-Year Nationwide Epidemiological Analysis of Guillain-Barré Syndrome in Taiwan

“…Another report from the United States found increasing GBS incidence over the 10-year period [24] . In this study, the incidence rate increased gradually over the 15-year observational period ( fig.…”

“…Shui et al. reported results of a cohort study in the United States [24] and found that the GBS incidence rates estimated from emergency and in-patient visits were 15% higher in winter and spring than in summer and fall. Other studies documenting seasonal variation in GBS attributed this to higher rates of infection in certain seasons [7,12,18,25] .…”