Prevalence and Incidence of Beta thalassemia

Beta thalassemia: Rare Disease

Beta thalassemia is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Beta thalassemia, or a subtype of Beta thalassemia, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.

Ophanet, who are a consortium of European partners, currently defines a condition rare when if affects 1 person per 2,000. They list Beta thalassemia as a "rare disease". More information about Beta thalassemia is available from Orphanet

About prevalence and incidence statistics:

The term 'prevalence' of Beta thalassemia usually refers to the estimated population of people who are managing Beta thalassemia at any given time. The term 'incidence' of Beta thalassemia refers to the annual diagnosis rate, or the number of new cases of Beta thalassemia diagnosed each year. Hence, these two statistics types can differ: a short-lived disease like flu can have high annual incidence but low prevalence, but a life-long disease like diabetes has a low annual incidence but high prevalence. For more information see about prevalence and incidence statistics.

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