Population-based cohort of 500 patients with Gaucher disease in Israel

OBJECTIVE: To characterise a population-based cohort of patients with Gaucher disease (GD) in Israel relative to the general population and describe sociodemographic and clinical differences by disease severity (ie, enzyme replacement therapy [ERT] use). DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted. SETTING: Data from the Clalit Health Services electronic health record (EHR) database were used. PARTICIPANTS: The study population included all patients in the Clalit EHR database identified as having GD as of 30 June 2014. RESULTS: A total of 500 patients with GD were identified and assessed. The majority were ≥18 years of age (90.6%), female (54.0%), Jewish (93.6%) and 34.8% had high socioeconomic status, compared with 19.0% in the general Clalit population. Over half of patients with GD with available data (51.0%) were overweight/obese and 63.5% had a Charlson Comorbidity Index ≥1, compared with 46.6% and 30.4%, respectively, in the general Clalit population. The majority of patients with GD had a history of anaemia (69.6%) or thrombocytopaenia (62.0%), 40.4% had a history of bone events and 22.2% had a history of cancer. Overall, 41.2% had received ERT. CONCLUSIONS: Establishing a population-based cohort of patients with GD is essential to understanding disease progression and management. In this study, we highlight the need for physicians to monitor patients with GD regardless of their ERT status.