Prevalence of Hidradenitis Suppurativa in Lund and Gothenburg, Sweden: An Analysis from the Global Hidradenitis Suppurativa Atlas Initiative.

INTRODUCTION

Epidemiologic studies of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) from Sweden are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of HS in Lund and Gothenburg, Sweden.

METHODS

This study was a part of the Global Hidradenitis Suppurativa Atlas (GHiSA) initiative. The study was multicentered and included apparently healthy adults accompanying a patient to the Department of either Endocrinology or Ophthalmology in a Swedish University Hospital from February 1 to November 30, 2023. Recruitment occurred in the waiting rooms where the study participants were consecutively invited to answer a validated screening questionnaire which had been translated into Swedish. In the questionnaire, the key screening questions asked were whether the study participant had had 2 or more boils/abscesses in the past 6 months and if these were in any of the typical skin sites for HS. Screen-positive and randomly selected screen-negative participants were clinically examined for HS by a dermatologist to verify the results.

RESULTS

A total of 551 accompanying adults were approached of which 505 answered the questionnaire. The prevalence of HS in this sample was 0.99% (95% confidence interval [0.43%-2.30%]). There was a statistically significant difference in BMI between the HS and control group, but not in relation to age or sex.

CONCLUSION

HS appears to be a common chronic disease in Sweden. Also, there is a strong association between overweight/obesity and HS.