Study finds apparent increase in Wegener granulomatosis

Researchers at Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden conducted a population-based study of Swedish hospital patients. The researchers identified 1,636 individuals between the years 1975 and 2001 with Wegener granulomatosis, a disorder in which inflammatory lesions (granulomas) form in tissues throughout the body, primarily in the lungs, kidneys, and small blood vessels. This works out to an incidence rate of 0.33 per 100,000 individuals from 1975-1985 and 1.19 per 100,000 individuals between 1991-2001. The research team was not able to determine why this increase occurred; it may be that physicians are more aware of Wegener granulomatosis and more accurate diagnoses were made. The research was published in the October 2006 issue of The Journal of Rheumatology.