Prevalence Rate and Factors Associated with Atopic Dermatitis among Korean Middle School Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to verify prevalence rates of atopic dermatitis (AD) in middle school students in Korea and to define AD and associated factors. This study was conducted using secondary analysis of raw data from the 'The 6th Korean National Adolescent Health Behavior Survey, 2010' conducted by the Korea Centers for Disease Control. The participants were 37,570 students. General characteristics and health behavior-related characteristics were analyzed using descriptive statistics, χ²-test and logistic regression analysis. Results are as follows. 1. There were 8,494 middle school students (22.6%), who had been diagnosed with AD during the last 12 months. 2. Factors associated with AD in middle school students were gender (p<.001), grade level (p=.001), father's education (p<.001), mother's education (p=.032), regular dietary habits (breakfasts, p=.025; lunches; p=.003), stress (p<.001), recognition of subjective awareness of one's health conditions (p<.001), hand washing before meals at school (p=.013), and cessation education for both smoking (p=.002) and alcohol (p=.031). Results of the study indicate that in order to alleviate AD symptoms in these students, there is a need to develop nursing interventions and education programs taking into consideration these variables and verifying the effects of interventions and programs.