About ITP

ITP, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, also known as immune thrombocytopenic purpura, is classified as an autoimmune disease. In an autoimmune disease the body mounts an attack toward one or more otherwise normal organ systems. In ITP, platelets are the target. They are marked as foreign by the immune system and eliminated in the spleen, or sometimes the liver.

Researchers have identified more than eighty autoimmune diseases. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates that 5% to 8% of the United States population, between 14 and 24 million people, suffer with autoimmune disease.

Estimates of the incidence, number of new cases of ITP per year, and the prevalence, how many people have ITP, vary since they are often based on small population samples or review of insurance records. The incidence of ITP in children is estimated at 4.3 to 5.3 per 100,000 children per year.1,2 Since children with ITP usually recover, the prevalence of childhood ITP is about equal to the incidence.3 The incidence of adult ITP is from 1.6 4 to 6.6 5 per 100,000 and the prevalence is approximately 9.5 cases per 100,000.3

In children, an equal number of boys and girls are diagnosed with ITP. In adults, more women than men have the disease, however, the gender difference disappears in people over 60 years old.6

For much more information see our booklets in the publications section.

IMPORTANT!

The information on this website is provided for educational purposes only. Consult a health care provider concerning your particular condition.

(1) Fogarty PF, Segal JB. The epidemiology of immune thrombocytopenic purpura. Curr Opin Hematol. 2007;14: 515-519.

(2) Zeller B, Helgestad J, Hellebostad M, et al. Immune thrombocytopenic purpura in childhood in Norway: a prospective, population-based registration. Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2000;17(7):551-558.

(3) Segal JB, Powe NR. Prevalence of immune thrombocytopenia: analyses of administrative data. J Thromb Haemost. 2006;4(11):2377-2383.

(4) Neylon AJ, Saunders PW, Howard MR, Proctor SJ, Taylor PR. Clinically significant newly presenting autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura in adults: a prospective study of a population-based cohort of 245 patients, Br J Haematol 2003 September;122(6):966-74.

(5) McMillan, R. (1997) Therapy for adults with refractory chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura. Annals of Internal Medicine, 126, 307–314.

(6) Frederiksen H, Schmidt K. The incidence of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura in adults increases with age. Blood. 1999;94(3):909-913.