Epidemiology of chronic inflammatory neuropathies in southeast England

Background and purposeThere is little information about the prevalence and disease burden of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP), multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) and paraproteinaemic demyelinating neuropathy (PDN). MethodsMultiple sources were used to study the prevalence and clinical features of these diseases in a southeast England population of 3557352 people. ResultsThe crude prevalences were as follows: CIDP, 2.84 (95% CI 2.31-3.45); MMN, 0.53 (95% CI 0.32-0.83); and PDN, 1.04 (95% CI 0.73-1.43) per 100000 population. All three diseases were more common in men than in women. The peak decade of onset was older in those with CIDP (70-79years) and PDN (70-79years) than in those with MMN (50-59years). Disability was greater in CIDP and PDN, with median (range) overall neuropathy limitations scores of 4 (0-8) and 4 (1-6), respectively, than in MMN, with a score of 2 (1-5). ConclusionThe common forms of chronic inflammatory neuropathy cause a considerable disease burden in the community.