Recent trends in hospitalizations for myelodysplastic syndromes and polycythemia vera in England and Wales

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are among the most common hematological malignancies. Polycythemia vera (PV) is a myeloproliferative disorder that causes the neoplastic proliferation of hematopoietic progenitor cells. Limited data exist on the population-level burden of MDS and PV globally. This ecological study utilized publicly available data from the Hospital Episode Statistics database in England and the Patient Episode Database for Wales for the period from April 1999 to April 2020. The hospital admission rate was 71.6% (from 72.62 [95% confidence interval [CI]: 71.89-73.35] in 1999 to 124.60 [95% CI 123.71-125.50] in 2020 per 100,000 persons, trend test, P < .05). MDS and PV-related admissions increased by 85.3% and 24.2%, respectively. In males, the admission rate increased by 86.1% (from 88.36 [95% CI: 87.21-89.52] in 1999 to 164.48 [95% CI: 163.02-165.94] in 2020 per 100,000 persons), whereas in females, there was an increase of 48.5% (from 57.62 [95% CI: 56.71-58.53] in 1999 to 85.55 [95% CI: 84.51-86.60] in 2020 per 100,000 persons). During the past 21 years, there has been a substantial rise in MDS and PV-related hospital admissions in England and Wales. Further studies are needed to establish the population factors contributing to these trends in order to inform public health measures.