A recently published study has released updated figures on the number of cases of haemophilia worldwide. The study was conducted in response to a request by the World Federation of Haemophilia (WFH), which voiced the urgent need to establish an accurate estimate of the number of patients suffering from the disease in the global population, in order to be able to plan an adequate healthcare system.
The study, which was based on data from the national registers of a number of countries, including Italy, gave surprising results: the number of cases of haemophilia worldwide, actually proved to be about three times higher than expected. More specifically, according to the published data, 17 out of every 100,000 people suffer from haemophilia A, and 6 out of every 100,000 people have the more severe form of the disease. The results of the study highlight the need to adapt both the health and care systems for patients with haemophilia and the production of drugs for its treatment, which must satisfy far higher demands than previously considered.
Sources:
- Iorio A. et al. Establishing the male prevalence and prevalence at birth of hemophilia. A meta-analytic approach using national registries. Ann Intern Med., 2019. PMID:31499529
World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) website. Link: https://news.wfh.org/wfh-has-spearheaded-a-scientific-study-updating-the-prevalence-of-hemophilia-to-higher-numbers-than-previously-estimated/
