Epidemiology of paediatric chronic heart failure in Germany - a population‐based analysis

Abstract: Aims
Paediatric chronic heart failure (CHF) is associated with significant morbidity. The aim of this study was to describe paediatric CHF epidemiology in Germany.

Methods and results
This is a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of anonymized healthcare claims data in the InGef database. This database includes longitudinal data from a representative sample of the German population of approximately 4.8 million insured members. We included individuals <18 years from 2016 to 2021. CHF was defined by ≥2 diagnoses in different quarters of the year as inpatient or outpatient, using ICD-10-GM codes I50.- or P29.0.

The number of eligible children in the database was 674 462 in 2016 and 660 692 in 2021. Prevalence of CHF per 100 000 children was 20.6 [95% confidence interval (CI), 17.3–24.3] in 2016 and 19.4 (95% CI, 16.2 to 23.0) in 2021. Incidence per 100 000 children was 9.6 (95% CI, 7.4 to 12.3) in 2016 and 7.6 (95% CI, 5.6 to 10.0) in 2021 for newly diagnosed CHF. All-cause hospitalizations occurred in 47.3% to 57.7% of children with CHF per year. Up to 6.3% of children with CHF were hospitalized, coded primarily for heart failure. Mortality of children with CHF was <5 death per year in the studied population. In 128 children with CHF in 2021, the most common ICD-coded comorbidities were congenital malformations of cardiac septa (57.8%), atrial septal defect (44.5%), congenital malformations of the great arteries (43.0%) and ventricular septal defect (32.0%). Coded treatment modalities for paediatric CHF in 2021 included angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin II type 1 receptor blockers (18.8%), beta-blockers (17.2%), mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (14.8%) and surgical procedures (13.3%).

Conclusions
This representative cohort study reveals a relatively high incidence proportion. Approximately half of the children with CHF are hospitalized annually while mortality is low

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: ESC heart failure. - 11, 6 (2024) , 4371-4380, ISSN: 2055-5822

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (where): Freiburg
• (who): Universität
• (when): 2024
• Creator: Bobrowski, Alexej ; Klebs, Sven ; Alibone, Marco ; Bovy, Leonore ; Häckl, Dennis ; Fleck, Thilo ; Stiller, Brigitte

Further information

• DOI: 10.1002/ehf2.15043
• URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:25-freidok-2569107
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:37 AM CEST