A GP guide to common variable immunodeficiency
Diagnosis is often delayed by up to five years. Here’s how to identify the clues and track down the disorder
Common variable immunodeficiency refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifesting as recurrent infections with low serum immunoglobulins and poor specific antibody production.
It is the most common primary immunodeficiency diagnosis in adults, and can present at any age.
Prevalence is estimated at between 1:10,000 and 1:100,000 of the population, though the condition is rare in individuals of Asian descent.1
Although recurrent infection is the typical presenting problem, common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) also increases the risk of gastric cancer, lymphoma, autoimmune conditions, and a range of other systemic manifestations.
