No abstract

Patients with BP are more likely to have various neurological diseases, schizophrenia and psoriasis prior to the diagnosis of BP, supporting associations found in other studies. Further research is required to elucidate the tentative causal association with BP.

It has long been a debate that whether atopy is a risk factor or protective factor for cancer. However, no large‐scale study of different cancers in patients with atopic diseases has been conducted among Asians. Here, we conducted a nationwide study to evaluate the cancer risk in patients with allergic rhinitis (AR), asthma and atopic dermatitis (AD). Drawing on Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database, 225,315 patients with AR, 107,601 patients with asthma and 34,263 patients with AD without prior cancers were identified in the period from 1996 to 2008. The standard incidence ratio (SIR) of each cancer was calculated. Although the overall cancer risks in patients with atopic symptoms were not increased, the risks were slightly elevated in female patients with AR or asthma (SIR: 1.13 and 1.08, AR and asthma, respectively) and slightly decreased in males patients with AR. Those aged 20–39 years‐old possessed the highest risk. A higher risk of developing brain cancer was found in patients with atopic diseases, and patient with AR or asthma also had an elevated risk of developing cancer of kidney and urinary bladder. In contrast, the risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer was lower in patients with AR and asthma. Compared to patients with only one atopic disease, those with more than one atopic disease had lower cancer risks. Our data suggests that the association between atopy and cancer is site‐specific.

To study the prevalence of atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, and asthma in Taiwan, we analysed the claims data of a nationally representative cohort of 997,729 enrolees from the National Health Insurance register from 2000 to 2007. Overall, 66,446 patients were diagnosed with atopic dermatitis, and 49.8% of them had concomitant allergic rhinitis and/or asthma. The overall 8-year prevalences of atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, and asthma were 6.7%, 26.3% and 11.9%, respectively. Children and adolescents had significantly higher prevalences of these atopic diseases. The prevalence of atopic dermatitis in females was lower than that in males before the age of 8 years, but became higher after that. Patients with atopic dermatitis were more likely to have allergic rhinitis and asthma. Those having both atopic dermatitis and allergic rhinitis possessed an even higher risk for asthma (odds ratio 9.04). The numbers of visits for atopic dermatitis were highest in late spring to mid-summer. These data suggest that atopic diseases are common in Taiwan.