Increasing trends of anaphylaxis-related events: an analysis of anaphylaxis using nationwide data in Taiwan, 2001–2013

BACKGROUND: Anaphylaxis is a severe, potentially fatal, and systemic allergic reaction. Previous studies document increasing trends in incidence rates of anaphylaxis-related events in Western countries, yet little is known about the incidence and trend of anaphylaxis in Asia. In this study, we aimed to determine time trends in incidence rates of anaphylaxis-related events in Taiwan from 2001 through 2013. METHODS: We utilized medical claims data from the National Health Insurance Research Databases in Taiwan. We identified anaphylaxis-related events (ICD-9-CM-codes: 995.0, 995.60–995.69, 999.41–999.42, and 999.49) and calculated incidence rates. Poisson regression models were applied to examine trends and incidence rates. RESULTS: A total of 2496 patients (mean age, 45.11 years; 56% male) with first-time anaphylaxis were identified during 34,430,000 person-years of observation time. The overall incidence of anaphylaxis was 7.25 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 6.97–7.53) per 100,000 person-years, increasing from 4.79 in 2001 to 8.20 in 2013, with an incidence rate ratio (IRR) of 1.05 (95%CI = 1.04–1.06). Over the 13-year period, the increasing trends were found in incident diagnosis of anaphylaxis-related outpatient or emergency department visits (IRR = 1.06, 95%CI = 1.05–1.08) and admissions to intensive care units (IRR = 1.06, 95%CI = 1.03–1.10), whereas the trends in incidence of anaphylaxis-related hospitalizations remained steady. The proportion of patients requiring hospitalizations among all patients with anaphylaxis (p(_trend) = 0.01), as well as the proportion requiring intensive care treatment among patients who were hospitalized (p(_trend) = 0.01), both increased with age. CONCLUSION: The incidence rate of anaphylaxis in Taiwan has increased at an average rate of 5% annually since 2001, paralleling the rising trends in several Western countries. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s40413-018-0202-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.