Epidemiology and Severity of Prurigo Nodularis In Europe: A Literature Review With an Application to Italian Data

Introduction: Prurigo nodularis (PN) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with recent definition and relatively low prevalence. Information on PN, including its epidemiology, severity, and burden of disease is still scanty. Objectives: We sought to review and summarize recent quantitative data...

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Main Authors: Cataldo Patruno, Claudio Pelucchi, Carlotta Galeone, Martino Emmi, Paolo Amerio
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Mattioli1885 2025-04-01
Series:Dermatology Practical & Conceptual
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Online Access:https://dpcj.org/index.php/dpc/article/view/4716
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author Cataldo Patruno
Claudio Pelucchi
Carlotta Galeone
Martino Emmi
Paolo Amerio
author_facet Cataldo Patruno
Claudio Pelucchi
Carlotta Galeone
Martino Emmi
Paolo Amerio
author_sort Cataldo Patruno
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Prurigo nodularis (PN) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with recent definition and relatively low prevalence. Information on PN, including its epidemiology, severity, and burden of disease is still scanty. Objectives: We sought to review and summarize recent quantitative data on PN in Europe, and to estimate the burden of disease in Italy with a focus on moderate-to-severe PN. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review of recent studies on the epidemiology of PN in Europe, using PubMed/Medline and EMBASE. The study selection process was conducted independently by 2 reviewers. Articles focused on the severity of PN were also searched, and relevant information was extracted. Synthetic results were combined to population data to derive the best estimate of the burden of PN in Italian adults. Results: Five articles reporting data on incidence and/or prevalence of PN in European populations were identified. The prevalence of PN ranged from 6.5 to 111.0 cases per 100,000, with a median estimate of 32.7 cases per 100,000, the incidence ranging between 2.88 and 20 per 100,000 person-years. Five (other) studies reported data on the severity of PN, measured through pruritus scores, quality-of-life indexes and/or percentage of non-response to treatment. We estimated a total of 16,280 prevalent PN cases in Italy, of whom 6,073 had moderate-to-severe to very severe disease. Among the latter, 1,798 estimated cases were not controlled by standard treatments. Conclusions: We retrieved and summarized recent epidemiological data on PN, evidencing a high burden of disease in Italy and other European countries.
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spelling doaj-art-7f2145a34e7e40a098e9624f35517e292025-08-20T02:19:47ZengMattioli1885Dermatology Practical & Conceptual2160-93812025-04-0115210.5826/dpc.152a4716Epidemiology and Severity of Prurigo Nodularis In Europe: A Literature Review With an Application to Italian DataCataldo Patruno0Claudio Pelucchi1Carlotta Galeone2Martino Emmi3Paolo Amerio4Department of Health Sciences, University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, ItalyDepartment of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Milan, ItalyDepartment of Statistics, Bicocca Applied Statistics Center (B-ASC), Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milan, ItalySanofi S.r.l., Milan, ItalyDermatologic Clinic, Department of Medicine and Aging Science, University "G. d'Annunzio", Chieti-Pescara, Italy Introduction: Prurigo nodularis (PN) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with recent definition and relatively low prevalence. Information on PN, including its epidemiology, severity, and burden of disease is still scanty. Objectives: We sought to review and summarize recent quantitative data on PN in Europe, and to estimate the burden of disease in Italy with a focus on moderate-to-severe PN. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review of recent studies on the epidemiology of PN in Europe, using PubMed/Medline and EMBASE. The study selection process was conducted independently by 2 reviewers. Articles focused on the severity of PN were also searched, and relevant information was extracted. Synthetic results were combined to population data to derive the best estimate of the burden of PN in Italian adults. Results: Five articles reporting data on incidence and/or prevalence of PN in European populations were identified. The prevalence of PN ranged from 6.5 to 111.0 cases per 100,000, with a median estimate of 32.7 cases per 100,000, the incidence ranging between 2.88 and 20 per 100,000 person-years. Five (other) studies reported data on the severity of PN, measured through pruritus scores, quality-of-life indexes and/or percentage of non-response to treatment. We estimated a total of 16,280 prevalent PN cases in Italy, of whom 6,073 had moderate-to-severe to very severe disease. Among the latter, 1,798 estimated cases were not controlled by standard treatments. Conclusions: We retrieved and summarized recent epidemiological data on PN, evidencing a high burden of disease in Italy and other European countries. https://dpcj.org/index.php/dpc/article/view/4716Burden of DiseaseEpidemiologyprurigo nodularisReview
spellingShingle Cataldo Patruno
Claudio Pelucchi
Carlotta Galeone
Martino Emmi
Paolo Amerio
Epidemiology and Severity of Prurigo Nodularis In Europe: A Literature Review With an Application to Italian Data
Dermatology Practical & Conceptual
Burden of Disease
Epidemiology
prurigo nodularis
Review
title Epidemiology and Severity of Prurigo Nodularis In Europe: A Literature Review With an Application to Italian Data
title_full Epidemiology and Severity of Prurigo Nodularis In Europe: A Literature Review With an Application to Italian Data
title_fullStr Epidemiology and Severity of Prurigo Nodularis In Europe: A Literature Review With an Application to Italian Data
title_full_unstemmed Epidemiology and Severity of Prurigo Nodularis In Europe: A Literature Review With an Application to Italian Data
title_short Epidemiology and Severity of Prurigo Nodularis In Europe: A Literature Review With an Application to Italian Data
title_sort epidemiology and severity of prurigo nodularis in europe a literature review with an application to italian data
topic Burden of Disease
Epidemiology
prurigo nodularis
Review
url https://dpcj.org/index.php/dpc/article/view/4716
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AT carlottagaleone epidemiologyandseverityofprurigonodularisineuropealiteraturereviewwithanapplicationtoitaliandata
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