Stable incidence of primary systemic vasculitides over five years: results from the German vasculitis register.

Objective: To register all newly diagnosed patients with primary systemic vasculitides (PSV) in a large region in northern Germany.

Methods: Between January 1, 1998 and December 31, 2002 all newly diagnosed cases of PSV were identified in a large mixed rural/urban northern German region consisting of 2,777,275 habitants in a population-based prospective study. The following sources were used: departments of all hospitals, including their outpatient clinics; all departments of pathology; and the reference immunologic labs serving the catchment area.

Effect of Wegener's granulomatosis on work disability, need for medical care, and quality of life in patients younger than 40 years at diagnosis.

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) on employment status, work disability, and need for medical care of 60 consecutive WG patients aged < or = 40 years at diagnosis.

Methods: Sixty WG patients (26 male, 34 female) with a median age of 36 years (range 17-48 years) and a median duration of disease of 39 months (range 0-228 months) completed self-administered questionnaires on hospitalization, medical care, and employment status plus the Medical Outcomes Study-Short Form-36 (SF-36) estimating their health-related quality of life.

Results: Thirty-two of the 60 patients reported full- or part-time employment more than 3 years after diagnosis.