[Incidence of endemic sprue in Berlin (West). A retrospective study based on biopsy findings]

The incidence of celiac disease in Berlin (West) during the years 1979-1984 has been studied retrospectively by investigating the records of the local Pathological Institutes, which examine small intestinal biopsies, for the occurrence of abnormal specimens typical of celiac disease (group 1) or consistent with the diagnosis of celiac disease (group 2). Group 1 exhibited a constant average incidence of 0.74 per 100,000 inhabitants per year, while group 2 showed a small increase between 1979 and 1984, averaging 1.03 per 100,000 inhabitants per year. Classified according to age the highest incidence was seen in the 0-5 year-olds, namely 8.04 in group 1 and 10.00 in group 2. For those children born and examined during the period of investigation the values ranged between 15.8 and 64.7 per 100,000 births. Girls, with an average frequency of 1:1919 births were more often affected than boys, who averaged 1:4219 births. These figures obtained in Berlin (West) indicate only the lower ranges of incidences and will have to be further supplemented by a prospective study.