THE PREVALENCE OF THE 30 LONG-LASTING AFF ECTIONS FOR FRENCH HEALTH-INSURANCE MEMBERS

Background: The French health insurance has carried out a survey To es timate the medical and social prevalence for the 30 long-lasting affec tions. This estimation was extended to the instantaneous morbidity pre valence for some of these diseases. Methods: The random sampling repre sented 2 % of the 3 337 795 patients who Mere affected by long-lasting affections (ALD 30). To codify the diagnoses, the << medecin conseil >> proceeded by different ways : either by examinating the patient, by consulting the practicing physician (69% of the patients), or. by con sulting the individual medical file Morbidity prevalence estimates wer e limited to same diseases : those for which correcting coefficients w ere available or those for which the legislation on long-lasting affec tions were applied in patients not likely to come under << invalidity >>. Results: In November 1994, among the patients who came under << AL D 30 >>, 39 % were affected with cardio-vascular diseases, about 15 % were affected with psychiatric diseases, and a similar proportion pres ented cancer or diabetes. The estimation of the insulin-dependent diab etes morbidity prevalence was 4.1 parts per thousand, non insulin-depe ndent diabetes 18 parts per thousand, progressive rheumatoid polyarthr itis 2.8 parts per thousand, Parkinson disease 2.0 parts per thousand, and multiple sclerosis 0.4 parts per thousand. This survey also estim ated the prevalence of seven other affections. Conclusions: This surve y provides morbidity prevalence rates estimated on the basis of a repr esentative sample of a sub-population including 70 % of the French pop ulation. Most results are close to those which have been already publi shed but some of them appear quite new.