Incidence of non-esophageal eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease in Sweden 1990–2015

Data on the incidence of Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease (EGID) distal to the esophagus are scarce. This study aimed to examine the incidence of non-eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) EGID in Sweden, as well as its three entities; eosinophilic gastritis (EoG), eosinophilic enteritis (EoN), and eosinophilic colitis (EoC). We performed a nationwide population-based cohort study of individuals with incident biopsy-confirmed non-EoE EGID in Sweden from 1990 to 2015. Age-standardized and age-specific incidence rates (IRs) were calculated. We identified 1882 individuals with incident non-EoE EGID. Females constituted 58% and the mean age at diagnosis was 45 years. EoC was the most common subtype (62%). From 1990 to 2015, the mean age-standardized IR was approximately 0.8 per 100,000 person-years (IR = 0.79; 95%CI = 0.64–0.93), but with higher IRs in recent years (2013–2015: IR = 1.51; 95%CI = 1.09–1.93). The incidence increased especially during the 1990s, with a 27% annual increase before 2000, compared to a 3% annual increase thereafter. The incidence rate ratio (IRR) between females and males was 1.38 (95%CI = 1.26–1.51), but no evidence was found to suggest that the IRR varied across calendar periods or by age. The lifetime risk of diagnosed non-EoE EGID was 0.08% (1 in 1250) in females and 0.06% (1 in 1667) in males. The incidence of non-EoE EGID in Sweden increased between 1990 and 2015. This may reflect a higher disease awareness in recent years.