Prevalence and Incidence of Dilated Cardiomyopathy in the United States and Western Europe: A Systematic Review.

Background: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a major contributing factor for heart failure and cardiac transplantation worldwide. Estimating the prevalence and incidence of DCM is critical for understanding the burden of illness in these patients and improving the landscape of preventative treatments. Previous reviews have shown substantial prevalence and incidence estimates for DCM within key regions such as the United States and several European countries. This review aimed to describe the published evidence on the prevalence and incidence of DCM within the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Methods: MEDLINE^® and Embase were searched from database inception to May 9, 2023 for English-language studies reporting the prevalence or incidence of DCM within general populations of adults or children in countries of interest. Manual searches of relevant conferences and bibliographies of previous literature reviews were also conducted.

Results: Of 6,145 identified articles, 10 unique studies were included in the review. Six studies reported prevalence, and five studies reported incidence of DCM in various populations. Prevalence estimates of DCM, including idiopathic and non-idiopathic causes, within adults (≥ 18 years) and/or heterogeneous (all ages) populations ranged from 42.8 to 118.3 per 100,000 persons; idiopathic DCM estimates ranged from 8.3 to 59.2 per 100,000 persons. Prevalence of adolescent (about 11 - 18 years) DCM, including idiopathic and non-idiopathic causes, ranged from 2.6 to 212.8 per 100,000 persons. Annual incidence rates of idiopathic DCM in adult/heterogeneous populations ranged from 6.0 to 7.0 per 100,000 persons. Annual incidence of DCM due to idiopathic/non-idiopathic causes among pediatric populations was reported as 0.6 per 100,000 persons. Reported prevalence and incidence rates by sex showed male preponderance, and estimates were higher in Black persons compared with White and Hispanic persons; higher DCM prevalence estimates were observed in studies utilizing newer DCM definitions using ICD coding compared with older definitions.

Conclusion: This study highlights the varied prevalence and incidence rates of DCM reported across different geographic locations, time periods, sexes, races, and disease definitions. When comparing these rates, it is crucial to consider factors such as data sources, case definitions, case-finding methodologies, and study populations.