Dermatitis herpetiformis in Finland

During a 3 1/2-year period, 492 patients with dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) visited the dermatological departments of Finnish hospitals. The prevalence of DH in Finland was 10.4 patients/100,000 inhabitants, or 1/10,000. About 60 patients contracted DH each year, giving an incidence of 1.3 patients/100,000 inhabitants/year. These figures show that DH is a rather common disease in Finland--much more so in Finland than in Britain. Its incidence does not differ much from that approximated for coeliac disease in Finland. DH occured in all parts of the country. The birth-places of the patients were distributed evenly over the whole country, in contrast to the distribution pattern of rare hereditary diseases in Finland. No significant difference was found in the occurrence of DH in areas with differing levels of wheat consumption or iodine intake.