Vaccines/Antivirals & Evidence Generation, Pfizer PIO, Paris, France.
IQVIA Opérations France, Courbevoie, France.
Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2024 Nov;24(11):720-729. doi: 10.1089/vbz.2024.0006. Epub 2024 Jul 16.
Lyme borreliosis (LB) remains a public health concern in France despite improved patient management and medical care. Stay-at-home restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected participation in outdoor recreational activities and disrupted access to health care services, may have impacted the risk of developing LB. We analyzed data from two general practitioner networks in France (Sentinel Network and an electronic medical records database [EMR]) and the national hospital discharge database to describe LB epidemiology in 2020-2021 and compare it to previous years. Google Trends' search volume was used to evaluate the association between the population's interest in LB and the evolving epidemiology. Annual LB incidence rates in primary care decreased from 104 cases/100,000 population in 2018 to 71/100,000 in 2021 and from 82/100,000 to 60/100,000 according to Sentinel Network and EMR, respectively. Google Trends' search volume for "Lyme" followed a similar trend, one year earlier. Annual hospitalizations were stable from 2012-2019 (1.6/100,000 on average) and declined to 1.3/100,000 in 2020 and 1.1/100,000 in 2021. This decline was observed primarily in adults ( 3.4/100,000 in 2017-2019 to 1.8/100,000 in 2020-2021 for 70-79 years of age). Changes in regional incidence rates in primary care from 2017-2019 to 2020-2021 ranged from -75% to 208%. Hospitalizations decreased in all regions except in Bretagne. The estimated LB incidence decreased in 2020 and 2021 compared with previous years but this change may not be related to COVID-19. The incidence decrease observed in primary care could result from reduced population interest in LB, leading to lower care-seeking behavior. The decrease in LB hospitalizations may be explained by changes in clinical practice. Surveillance systems are critical to understand the evolution of LB epidemiology. However, external factors impacting incidence estimates should be considered.
莱姆病（LB）在法国仍然是一个公共卫生关注点，尽管患者管理和医疗服务有所改善。COVID-19 大流行期间的居家限制，影响了户外活动的参与度，并扰乱了医疗服务的获取，可能影响了 LB 的发病风险。我们分析了法国两个全科医生网络（Sentinel 网络和电子病历数据库 [EMR]）和国家医院出院数据库的数据，以描述 2020-2021 年 LB 的流行病学，并将其与前几年进行比较。谷歌趋势的搜索量用于评估人群对 LB 的兴趣与不断变化的流行病学之间的关联。初级保健中的 LB 发病率从 2018 年的 104 例/10 万人降至 2021 年的 71/10 万人，根据 Sentinel 网络和 EMR，分别为 82/10 万人和 60/10 万人。谷歌趋势的“莱姆”搜索量也呈现出类似的趋势，提前一年。2012-2019 年期间，年住院率保持稳定（平均 1.6/10 万人），2020 年降至 1.3/10 万人，2021 年降至 1.1/10 万人。这种下降主要发生在成年人中（70-79 岁年龄组从 2017-2019 年的 3.4/10 万人降至 2020-2021 年的 1.8/10 万人）。初级保健中 2017-2019 年至 2020-2021 年的区域发病率变化范围从 -75%至 208%。除布列塔尼地区外，所有地区的住院人数均有所下降。与前几年相比，2020 年和 2021 年的 LB 发病率估计有所下降，但这种变化可能与 COVID-19 无关。初级保健中观察到的发病率下降可能是由于人群对 LB 的兴趣降低，导致寻求护理的行为减少。LB 住院人数的减少可能是由于临床实践的改变。监测系统对于了解 LB 流行病学的演变至关重要。但是，应该考虑影响发病率估计的外部因素。
