LAUSR

Introduction Amyloidosis remains underdiagnosed, however newer diagnostic modalities and newer therapeutic agents have increased the awareness for this disease. The prevalence of cardiac amyloidosis in the Veterans Affairs population is unknown and there are now effective treatments for patients with amyloidosis and cardiomyopthy. The objective of this study is to describe the diagnosis of amyloidosis in the Veterans Affairs population. Methods We undertook a retrospective analysis of the Veterans Affairs Department of Veterans Affairs Informatics Computing Infrastructure database from 2000-2014. We queried the diagnosis of amyloidosis using the International Classification of Disease-9th revision -Clinical Modification Diagnosis (ICD) code of 277.3X. We calculated the incidence proportions as cases per 100,000 population per year. Results A total of 5,639 patients with diagnosis codes for amyloidosis were identified during the study period, giving an incidence of 7.4 per 100,000 patients. Of them, 96% were men and 88% were older than 55 years old. The incidence increased over the years (Linear Trend Coefficient = 1.49, p-value = 0.001) and at a faster rate over the last years (Quadratic trend coefficient = 3.04, p-value Conclusions Cases of amyloidosis continues to increase in the US Veterans population. Understanding the epidemiological trends and populations at risk will guide the development of tools to provide early diagnosis and appropriate access to care for patients with amyloidosis.