This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
Abstract
Objective: To determine the minimum incidence and minimum prevalence rates of small-fiber neuropathy (SFN) in a well-defined region in the southern part of the Netherlands.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study with retrospective data collection, we used data of patients diagnosed with pure SFN at our Small Fiber Neuropathy Center between January 2006 and December 2011 to calculate minimum incidence and prevalence rates.
Results: A total of 88 patients were diagnosed with SFN (mean age 56.9 years, SD 11.8, range 34–81; 44.3% women, 55.7% men). The overall minimum incidence over 2010 and 2011 was 11.73 (95% confidence interval 7.12–18.22) cases/100,000 inhabitants/year. The overall minimum prevalence was 52.95 (95% confidence interval 42.47–65.23) cases/100,000. Incidence and prevalence rates were higher in men than in women, as were the rates in elderly patients compared with younger patients.
Conclusions: The minimum incidence and prevalence rates of SFN are presented. We found that SFN is more frequently seen in men and more often diagnosed in elderly patients. These rates probably are an underestimation and are expected to increase in the coming years, since the awareness of SFN is increasing worldwide.
GLOSSARY
- CIDP=
- chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy;
- GBS=
- Guillain-Barré syndrome;
- IENFD=
- intraepidermal nerve fiber density;
- MUMC=
- Maastricht University Medical Center;
- SFN=
- small-fiber neuropathy
Footnotes
Go to Neurology.org for full disclosures. Funding information and disclosures deemed relevant by the authors, if any, are provided at the end of the article.
- Received November 30, 2012.
- Accepted in final form July 10, 2013.
- © 2013 American Academy of Neurology
AAN Members
We have changed the login procedure to improve access between AAN.com and the Neurology journals. If you are experiencing issues, please log out of AAN.com and clear history and cookies. (For instructions by browser, please click the instruction pages below). After clearing, choose preferred Journal and select login for AAN Members. You will be redirected to a login page where you can log in with your AAN ID number and password. When you are returned to the Journal, your name should appear at the top right of the page.
AAN Non-Member Subscribers
Purchase access
Letters: Rapid online correspondence
- Incidence and prevalence of small-fiber neuropathy: A survey in the Netherlands
REQUIREMENTS
You must ensure that your Disclosures have been updated within the previous six months. Please go to our Submission Site to add or update your Disclosure information.
Your co-authors must send a completed Publishing Agreement Form to Neurology Staff (not necessary for the lead/corresponding author as the form below will suffice) before you upload your comment.
If you are responding to a comment that was written about an article you originally authored:
You (and co-authors) do not need to fill out forms or check disclosures as author forms are still valid
and apply to letter.
Submission specifications:
- Submissions must be < 200 words with < 5 references. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- Submissions should not have more than 5 authors. (Exception: original author replies can include all original authors of the article)
- Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.
You May Also be Interested in
More Online
Hastening the Diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Dr. Brian Callaghan and Dr. Kellen Quigg