Eczema, atopy and allergen exposure in adults: a population‐based study

Abstract

There is geographical variation in the prevalence of eczema in adults both within and between countries. Although the disease is associated with IgE sensitization, in this study it was not related to mattress mite or cat allergen levels.

Trends in the epidemiology and prescribing of medication for eczema in England

“…We have found using data from our work that the lifetime clinician{recorded prevalence peaks in younger children mirrored results from a birth cohort, 13 and the prevalence in our older adults was similar to that found in survey data. 7 Although little data on the trend of eczema prevalence exist prior to World War II (1939)(1940)(1941)(1942)(1943)(1944)(1945), the prevalence of eczema increased substantially in the latter half of the 20th century, with eczema in school{aged children being found to increase between the late 1940s and 2000. [14][15][16] In contrast to our results, survey studies (see Box 2 Trends in the epidemiology and prescribing of medication for eczema in England for questions used in surveys) from the period immediately prior (1995-1996 to 2000-2001) 17 and intersecting our study period (1995-1996 to 2002-2003) 6 found only a moderate increase in eczema in children (2-15 years), a decrease in older children (13-14 years) and no increase in adults (aged >15 years) over time.…”

“…Another strength of this study was the use of contemporaneous clinician recording of a diagnosis of eczema as opposed to patient self{reporting of historical diagnoses or symptoms. 6,7 There are a number of limitations related to the use of large routinely collected data from primary care, including the dependence on clinician{ recorded diagnosis of eczema and possible improvements in recording over the study time period. The relatively short time window over which trends were studied is another limitation, but this does also have the advantage of confining analysis to a period during which there were no changes in disease definition or classification.…”

“…5 Studying primary care databases provides a picture of overall national trends -something that is not possible with large scale surveys such as ISAAC, which has studied only children, 6 and the ECRHS, which has surveyed only adults. 7 Large primary care data{sets such as QRESEARCH, recording information at the point at which the majority of patients with eczema are likely to be managed, do however offer an important opportunity to study changing patterns of disease. Building on previous work, [8][9][10] we sought to describe recent trends in the primary care diagnosis, prescribing and consulting behaviours of patients with eczema in England.…”

Self-Reported Skin Morbidities and Health-Related Quality of Life: A Population-Based Nested Case-Control Study

“…Studies have suggested the following prevalence: psoriasis 1-8% [2], hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) 0.33-4% [3,4], adult atopic eczema (AE) 0.3-6.2% [5], pimples 3.5% and hand rash 3.3% [6]. Hospital-based studies indicate that skin diseases reduce patients' quality of life (QoL), but the morbidity of these large groups of patients found in the general population is poorly described.…”

Food Allergy: An Increasing Problem for the Elderly

“…FA caused by fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, peanuts and seafood seem to be most prevalent in adults [9,10,21] . Sensitization may occur directly to food allergens or indirectly through cross-reactivity with aeroallergens.…”