Prevalence

[COLOR=black]For acute diseases, incidence is the more useful statistic. Incidence is the ratio of the population (usually in a region or country) diagnosed per year. GBS falls into that category. Dr. Asbury of University of Pennsylvania puts the incidence of GBS as a little over 1 per 100,000 in the US per year.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]For chronic diseases, prevalence is probably the more useful statistic. Prevalence is the ratio of the population (again, usually in a region or country) with the diagnosis on a particular day. There are studies in England and Australia that suggest that the prevalence of CIDP is a little over 1 per 100,000. There are estimates that CIDP might be as common as 7 per 100,000.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]Where either of the diseases is underdiagnosed is hard to say. Many of the symptoms overlap with other neuropathies. For example, about 15% of diabetics have some symptoms in common with CIDP, but that does not mean they have CIDP.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]MarkEns[/COLOR]