Abstract
Prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD) is increasing worldwide. Up to date, there has been no face-to-face nation-wide study in China. We aim to explore the prevalence of clinical diagnosed AD in children aged 1–7 ys in China. Twelve metropolises were chosen from different areas of China. In each region, we selected 4–10 kindergartens and 2–5 vaccination clinics randomly. A complete history-taking and skin examination were performed by dermatologists. The definite diagnosis of AD and the severity were determined by two or three dermatologists. All criteria concerned in UK diagnosis criteria, characteristic presentation of AD and atypical manifestations were recorded in detail. A total of 13998 children from 84 kindergartens and 40 vaccination clinics were included. The prevalence of AD was 12.94% by clinical diagnosis of dermatologists overall, with 74.6% of mild AD. Comparatively, prevalence of AD based on UK diagnostic criteria was 4.76%. This is the first face-to-face nation-wide study in Chinese children aged 1–7 ys, revealing that the prevalence of AD in children is closer to that of wealthier nations.
Highlights
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common, highly pruritic chronic inflammatory skin disorder in children, which is often associated with other atopic diseases such as asthma and allergic rhinitis[1]
In eastern Asia, a cross-sectional study of 6,453 Korean preschool children illustrated that the atopic dermatitis (AD) prevalence was 9.2% determined by dermatological examination 20087
There were no significant differences in these characteristics between the AD and non-AD groups
Summary
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common, highly pruritic chronic inflammatory skin disorder in children, which is often associated with other atopic diseases such as asthma and allergic rhinitis[1]. Prevalence of atopic eczema in 6 to 7-year-old schoolchildren in Spain using ISAAC Phase III in 2010 was 5.92%5. In the contrast, another similar study Brazilian schoolchildren show the prevelance ranged from 5.3% to Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Two studies have reported data related to AD prevalence from Chinese population. Both of them were performed by questionnaire investigation using UK diagnostic criteria. Various diagnostic criteria for AD have been proposed[12] All methodology factors, such as various populations, study methods, can influence the epidemiological result. We intended to perform a nation-wide face-to-face study completed by dermatologists to reveal the prevalence of AD in China more definitely
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