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Incidence of Narcolepsy in Germany
Doris Oberle1, Ursula Drechsel-Bäuerle1, Irene Schmidtmann2
1Department Safety of Medicinal Products and Medical Devices, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines, Langen, Germany.
Sleep
|April 24, 2015
Summary
Narcolepsy incidence significantly increased in German children and adolescents post-2009 pandemic influenza vaccine. Adult narcolepsy rates remained unchanged, indicating a specific age group impact.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Neurology
- Vaccinology
Background:
- Reports linked the AS03 adjuvanted H1N1 pandemic influenza vaccine to narcolepsy post-2009.
- Understanding narcolepsy incidence rates in Germany is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- Determine background narcolepsy incidence rates in Germany.
- Investigate changes in narcolepsy incidence rates pre-, during, and post-pandemic influenza.
- Assess population-level incidence shifts.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective epidemiological study design.
- Utilized capture-recapture analysis for incidence estimation.
- Included patients diagnosed with narcolepsy (ICD10 Code G47.4) between 2007-2011 from German sleep centers.
Main Results:
- Data from 233 German sleep centers included 1,198 narcolepsy patients.
- Narcolepsy incidence in children (<18 years) increased significantly post-pandemic (0.14 to 0.50/100,000 person-years).
- Adult narcolepsy incidence showed no significant change; the increase in children began in spring 2009.
Conclusions:
- Provided valid narcolepsy incidence estimates for Germany (2007-2011).
- Observed a continuous increase in narcolepsy incidence among individuals under 18 starting in spring 2009.
