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Epidemiology

Aplastic anemia is a rare, non cancerous disorder where the blood marrow is unable to adequately produce blood cells required for survival. It is estimated that the incidence of aplastic anemia is 0.7-4.1 cases per million people worldwide with the prevalence between men and women being approximately equal. The incidence rate of aplastic anemia in Asia is 2-3 times higher than it is in the West, with the incidence of the disease in the United States is 300-900 cases per year. The disease most commonly affects adults aged 15-25 and over the age of 60, but the disease can be observed in all age groups. The majority of instances of this disease are acquired during life and not inherited. These inherited cases are often linked to environmental exposures such as chemicals, drugs, and infectious agents that damage the blood marrow and compromise the ability of the marrow to generate new blood cells. However, in many instances the underlying cause for the disease is not found. This is referred to as idiopathic aplastic anemia and accounts for 75% of cases. This compromises the effectiveness of treatment since treatment of the disease is often aimed at the underlying cause. Those with a higher risk for aplastic anemia include individuals that are exposed to high-dose radiation, exposed to toxic chemicals, take certain prescription drugs, have pre-existing autoimmune disorders or blood disease, or are pregnant. The five-year survival rate is higher than 75% among recipients of blood marrow transplantation. Other treatment strategies include medications and blood transfusions. Patients that are untreated will often die within a year as a result of the disease due to related complications, which are most commonly bleeding and infection due to deficiency of platelets and white blood cells, respectively. There is not a screening test that currently exists for early detection and diagnosis of aplastic anemia.