The Prevalence and Risk Factors of Atopic Dermatitis from Nationwide Study: Korean Environmental Health Survey in Children and Adolescents (KorEHS-C)

Rationale: Atopic dermatitis (AD) has increased in nationwide. However, we do not have randomized general population based epidemiologic studies.We investigated the prevalence of AD and risk factors in nationwide random children and adolescents of Korea.

Methods: We conducted a questionnaires survey with1,820 children, aged 6 to 19 years old, nationwide in Korea from 2012 to 2013. The population was composed of 914 elementary, 445 middle, and 461 high school students. Current AD was defined as having recent AD symptoms within 12 months and diagnosed as AD from physicians ever.

Results: The prevalence of current AD in elementary, middle, and high school was 18.8%, 14.6%, 13.4% respectively. There were no significant differences in the regional distribution of current AD. Risk factors, based on multivariate analysis, for current AD from merged data included household pet keeping (aOR, 1.35; 95% CI, 0.97-1.89) as well as parental allergic disease (aOR, 1.93; 95% CI, 1.32-2.81), mold exposure during infancy (aOR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.06-1.89), recent mold exposure within 12 months (aOR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.15-2.01), and atopic sensitization (aOR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.12-1.93).

Conclusions: The nationwide prevalence of current AD in elementary, middle, and high school students were 18.8%, 14.6%, and 13.4%, respectively. The risk factors for current AD included parental allergic disease, mold exposure during infancy or recent 12 months, atopic sensitization, and household pet keeping. This data will be considered as the basis of national epidemiological survey of atopic dermatitis in future.