Variations in the prevalence of achalasia in Great Britain and Ireland: an epidemiological study based on hospital admissions.

Six thousand three hundred and six cases of achalasia were admitted to hospital in Britain and Ireland over a 10-year period. The majority (4920) came from England. The disease was significantly more common in Eire than England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. The prevalence in a 10-year period of 13.4/10(5) in Eire was based on 453 cases. Checks on the accuracy of prevalences collected in this manner showed them to be within 2.5 per cent of the actual figure. Studies of age-specific incidence in Scotland and Oxford showed a close correlation between the regions and between men and women. Achalasia is most common in Eire and its incidence increases with age.