Epidemiology, comorbidities, and healthcare utilization of patients with chronic urticaria in Germany

Background. Comprehensive data on the epidemiology and comorbidities of chronic urticaria (CU) in Germany are either limited, or not contemporary. Objectives. To investigate the epidemiology of CU, overall comorbidities and healthcare resource utilized by patients with CU in Germany, using an anonymized statutory health insurance (SHI) database. Methods. Anonymized SHI claims research database of the Institute for Applied Health Research, Berlin [InGef] (01 January 2015-30 September 2018) was used to analyse insured individuals with a confirmed diagnosis of CU (ICD-10-GM codes). Twelve-month diagnosed prevalence and incidence, comorbidities (vs. atopic dermatitis and psoriasis), and healthc…