Epidemiology of Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy in South Korea: A Population-Based Study

We performed a population-based study to determine the prevalence and incidence of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) in South Korea using data from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) database.

Data recorded in the HIRA database between January 2016 and December 2020 were analyzed. The inclusion criteria in this study for patients with CIDP were a diagnostic code of G61.8 in the seventh and eighth revision of the Korean Standard Classification of Disease and a >3-month history of oral immunosuppressant use. The age-adjusted incidence rate and prevalence of CIDP in South Korea were also analyzed.

CIDP was newly diagnosed in 953 patients during the study period. The mean age at diagnosis was 58.36 years, and the male-to-female ratio was 1.74. The age-adjusted incidence rates were 0.22, 0.21, 0.23, 0.30, and 0.25 per 100,000 person-years in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively. The age-adjusted prevalence was estimated at 1.16 per 100,000 persons in 2020. Age and the Elixhauser Comorbidity Index were associated with the in-hospital mortality of patients with CIDP. Infection and cardiovascular disease (CVD) were also significantly associated with the in-hospital mortality of those patients. Acute-onset CIDP was initially diagnosed in an estimated 101 out of 953 patients with CIDP.

The prevalence and incidence rates of CIDP in South Korea were comparable between this nationwide cohort study and previous studies. Common comorbidities such as CVD and diabetes should be appropriately monitored in patients with CIDP to prevent a poor prognosis and socioeconomic burden.