Reported idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) mortality is increasing in the majority of European Union (EU) countries, and rates among men are substantially higher than for women, according to a new study published in the ERJ.
Using the World Health Organization (WHO) mortality database, researchers gathered country-level data on IPF mortality rates in Europe between 2001 and 2013, and conducted joinpoint analysis to describe trends throughout the observation period.
Researchers found that the majority of individual EU countries demonstrated an increase in IPF mortality.
The greatest increases in IPF mortality were observed in the UK, Finland and Portugal; Denmark, Austria (men only), Croatia (men only) and Romania (women only) demonstrated a decrease in mortality from IPF during the observation period.
Researchers noted that there was a persistent gap between men and women in mortality rates; the overall rates of mortality across EU countries substantially higher for men than for women, which the researchers argue may be increasing over time.
The authors state that an increase in IPF incidence may be due to the ageing European population, and suggest that the rise in reported mortality rates may be due to increased recognition and diagnosis of the disease, but note that the absence of a Europe-wide database means it is difficult to scientifically address this possibility.