Atopic Dermatitis - Epidemiology

Epidemiology

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, many mucosal inflammatory disorders have become dramatically more common; atopic eczema (AE) is a classic example of such a disease. It now affects 10–20% of children and 1–3% of adults in industrialized countries, and its prevalence in the United States alone has nearly tripled in the past thirty to forty years.

Atopic dermatitis is a common disease which tends to affect both males and females in the same proportion. It is estimated that this condition accounts for about 20% of all dermatologic referrals. The prevalence of atopic dermatitis is however quite difficult to establish since the diagnostic criteria are not applied universally and are not standard, but it is thought to vary roughly between 10% and 30%. Most of the population-based studies report that at least 80% of the atopic dermatitis populations have mild eczema.

Atopic dermatitis occurs most often in infants and children, and its onset decreases substantially with age, and it is highly unlikely to develop in patients who are older than 30 years. The condition appears to primarily affect individuals who live in urban areas and in climates with low humidity. However, specialists claim that there is a genetic factor which may play an important role in the development of atopic dermatitis.