Time trends for pulmonary embolism incidence in Greece

Background Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a disease with a significant impact on public health. However, international epidemiological data are unclear and show considerable heterogeneity. The present study aims to investigate the incidence of PE at the Greek population and the associated demographic characteristics of patients with PE. Methods Data on hospital admissions for PE between 1999 and 2012 were provided by the Hellenic Statistical Authority of Greece. Data on age, gender and days of hospitalization from 1999 to 2007 were provided as well. The total population in each region was derived from the 1991, 2001, 2011 Census of the national statistical service of Greece. Results The mean annual incidence of PE during the study period was 18.5 per 100.000 population. The annual incidence of PE showed an upward trend ranging from 14 (1999) to 30 (2012) per 100.000 population. In the years before and after the economic crisis faced by Greece we observed statistically significant differences of PE incidence for the two different periods (1999–2008 versus 2009–2012, 14.49 versus 23.06 respectively, p = 0.002). The available data revealed a female predominance (16.48 cases for females per 100.000 population versus 13.69 cases for males per 100.000 population, p = 0.031). Incidence rate increased with age with a higher incidence in the “80–89” age group. Conclusions The incidence of PE appeared to increase in Greece, while it remains below the expected trend in an international context that may be attributed to Computed Tomography Pulmonary Angiography availability and/or PE awareness among clinicians.