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Letter to the Editor| Volume 55, ISSUE 2, P140-141, August 2009

Prevalence of atopic dermatitis in Japanese adults and community validation of the U.K. diagnostic criteria

Published:July 12, 2010DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdermsci.2009.04.004
Prevalence of atopic dermatitis in Japanese adults and community validation of the U.K. diagnostic criteria
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      Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin disease characterized by chronic, relapsing pruritic eczematous lesions. Although there have been numerous epidemiological studies on the prevalence of AD in children and adolescents, there have been few in adults [
      • Muto T.
      • Hsieh S.D.
      • Sakurai Y.
      • Yoshinaga H.
      • Suto H.
      • Okumura K.
      • et al.
      Prevalence of atopic dermatitis in Japanese adults.
      Br J Dermatol. 2003; 148: 117-121
      ,
      • Harrop J.
      • Chinn S.
      • Verlato S.
      • Olivieri M.
      • Norbäck D.
      • Wjst M.
      • et al.
      Eczema, atopy and allergen exposure in adults: a population-based study.
      Clin Exp Allergy. 2007; 37: 526-535
      ,
      • Hanifin J.M.
      • Reed M.L.
      A population-based survey of eczema prevalence in the United States.
      Dermatitis. 2007; 18: 82-91
      ,
      • Wolkewitz M.
      • Rothenbacher D.
      • Löw M.
      • Stegmaier C.
      • Ziegler H.
      • Radulescu M.
      • et al.
      Lifetime prevalence of self-reported atopic diseases in a population-based sample of elderly subjects: results of the ESTHER study.
      Br J Dermatol. 2007; 156: 693-697
      ,
      • Plunkett A.
      • Merlin K.
      • Gill D.
      • Zuo Y.
      • Jolley D.
      • Marks R.
      The frequency of common nonmalignant skin conditions in adults in central Victoria, Australia.
      Int J Dermatol. 1999; 38: 901-908
      ,
      • Saeki H.
      • Tsunemi Y.
      • Fujita H.
      • Kagami S.
      • Sasaki K.
      • Ohmatsu H.
      • et al.
      Prevalence of atopic dermatitis by clinical examination in Japanese adults.
      J Dermatol. 2006; 33: 817-819
      ]. Most of the studies done were based on questionnaires [
      • Muto T.
      • Hsieh S.D.
      • Sakurai Y.
      • Yoshinaga H.
      • Suto H.
      • Okumura K.
      • et al.
      Prevalence of atopic dermatitis in Japanese adults.
      Br J Dermatol. 2003; 148: 117-121
      ,
      • Harrop J.
      • Chinn S.
      • Verlato S.
      • Olivieri M.
      • Norbäck D.
      • Wjst M.
      • et al.
      Eczema, atopy and allergen exposure in adults: a population-based study.
      Clin Exp Allergy. 2007; 37: 526-535
      ,
      • Hanifin J.M.
      • Reed M.L.
      A population-based survey of eczema prevalence in the United States.
      Dermatitis. 2007; 18: 82-91
      ,
      • Wolkewitz M.
      • Rothenbacher D.
      • Löw M.
      • Stegmaier C.
      • Ziegler H.
      • Radulescu M.
      • et al.
      Lifetime prevalence of self-reported atopic diseases in a population-based sample of elderly subjects: results of the ESTHER study.
      Br J Dermatol. 2007; 156: 693-697
      ]. We evaluated the prevalence of AD in Japanese adults based on regular health check-ups by dermatologists at Tokyo University in 2004 [
      • Saeki H.
      • Tsunemi Y.
      • Fujita H.
      • Kagami S.
      • Sasaki K.
      • Ohmatsu H.
      • et al.
      Prevalence of atopic dermatitis by clinical examination in Japanese adults.
      J Dermatol. 2006; 33: 817-819
      ]. A total of 2123 staff members were examined in the study. The prevalence of AD was 6.9% overall, and 9.8%, 8.7%, 4.4% and 2.6%, respectively, for those in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s/60s, with that in women being higher than that in men (9.3% vs. 5.1%). Overall, 76.7%, 18.5%, 3.4% and 1.4% of those afflicted were in the mild, moderate, severe and very severe groups, respectively [
      • Saeki H.
      • Tsunemi Y.
      • Fujita H.
      • Kagami S.
      • Sasaki K.
      • Ohmatsu H.
      • et al.
      Prevalence of atopic dermatitis by clinical examination in Japanese adults.
      J Dermatol. 2006; 33: 817-819
      ]. The objective of this current study was to confirm these results by evaluating the prevalence of adult AD in other areas of Japan, because there have been few studies in adults.

      Keywords

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      References

        • Muto T.
        • Hsieh S.D.
        • Sakurai Y.
        • Yoshinaga H.
        • Suto H.
        • Okumura K.
        • et al.
        Prevalence of atopic dermatitis in Japanese adults.
        Br J Dermatol. 2003; 148: 117-121
        View in Article
        • Harrop J.
        • Chinn S.
        • Verlato S.
        • Olivieri M.
        • Norbäck D.
        • Wjst M.
        • et al.
        Eczema, atopy and allergen exposure in adults: a population-based study.
        Clin Exp Allergy. 2007; 37: 526-535
        View in Article
        • Hanifin J.M.
        • Reed M.L.
        A population-based survey of eczema prevalence in the United States.
        Dermatitis. 2007; 18: 82-91
        View in Article
        • Wolkewitz M.
        • Rothenbacher D.
        • Löw M.
        • Stegmaier C.
        • Ziegler H.
        • Radulescu M.
        • et al.
        Lifetime prevalence of self-reported atopic diseases in a population-based sample of elderly subjects: results of the ESTHER study.
        Br J Dermatol. 2007; 156: 693-697
        View in Article
        • Plunkett A.
        • Merlin K.
        • Gill D.
        • Zuo Y.
        • Jolley D.
        • Marks R.
        The frequency of common nonmalignant skin conditions in adults in central Victoria, Australia.
        Int J Dermatol. 1999; 38: 901-908
        View in Article
        • Saeki H.
        • Tsunemi Y.
        • Fujita H.
        • Kagami S.
        • Sasaki K.
        • Ohmatsu H.
        • et al.
        Prevalence of atopic dermatitis by clinical examination in Japanese adults.
        J Dermatol. 2006; 33: 817-819
        View in Article
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      Article info

      Publication history

      Published online: July 12, 2010
      Received: February 9, 2009

      Identification

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdermsci.2009.04.004

      Copyright

      © 2009 Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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