Investigating International Time Trends in the Incidence and Prevalence of Atopic Eczema 1990–2010: A Systematic Review of Epidemiological Studies

Abstract

The prevalence of atopic eczema has been found to have increased greatly in some parts of the world. Building on a systematic review of global disease trends in asthma, our objective was to study trends in incidence and prevalence of atopic eczema. Disease trends are important for health service planning and for generating hypotheses regarding the aetiology of chronic disorders. We conducted a systematic search for high quality reports of cohort, repeated cross-sectional and routine healthcare database-based studies in seven electronic databases. Studies were required to report on at least two measures of the incidence and/or prevalence of atopic eczema between 1990 and 2010 and needed to use comparable methods at all assessment points. We retrieved 2,464 citations, from which we included 69 reports. Assessing global trends was complicated by the use of a range of outcome measures across studies and possible changes in diagnostic criteria over time. Notwithstanding these difficulties, there was evidence suggesting that the prevalence of atopic eczema was increasing in Africa, eastern Asia, western Europe and parts of northern Europe (i.e. the UK). No clear trends were identified in other regions. There was inadequate study coverage worldwide, particularly for repeated measures of atopic eczema incidence. Further epidemiological work is needed to investigate trends in what is now one of the most common long-term disorders globally. A range of relevant measures of incidence and prevalence, careful use of definitions and description of diagnostic criteria, improved study design, more comprehensive reporting and appropriate interpretation of these data are all essential to ensure that this important field of epidemiological enquiry progresses in a scientifically robust manner.

Environmental risk factors and their role in the management of atopic dermatitis

“…The prevalence of AD appears to be higher in wealthier, developed regions compared with developing regions [2,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44]. Moreover, the prevalence of AD dramatically increased over the past 50 years worldwide and continues to increase in a number of countries [1,45]. While the reasons for such increases are unknown, environmental factors have been considered as potential contributors toward these trends [5].…”

Prevalence and determinants of eczema among females aged 21 to 32 years in Jeddah city – Saudi Arabia

“…In a in West Sweden study of approximately 30,000 individuals aged 16 to 75 years, the current eczema prevalence was 11 percent [7]. In a Danish cohort study including approximately 1300 individuals aged 28 to 30 years who had been followed-up for 15 years, 10 percent reported atopic dermatitis, but 6 percent were found to have atopic dermatitis at clinical examination [8]. The incidence of Eczema appears to be increasing.…”

The relationship between serum TSLP and TARC levels with the severity of atopic dermatitis in infants

“…Atopik dermatit sıklığı gelişmiş ve gelişmekte olan ülkelerde yıllar içinde artış göstermektedir (2) . Atopik dermatitin sıklığı gelişmiş ülkelerde yaşayan çocuk-larda %15-20 iken, erişkinlerde %1-3 arasında değiş-mektedir (3,4) .…”