Around 6% of kids and teens are living with eczema: research
Eczema (atopic dermatitis) was reported in 6% of kids and teens, according to new research published in Clinical & Experimental Allergy.
The results come from an analysis of data from 14 countries involving 74,361 adolescents aged 13–14 years and 47,907 children aged 6–7 years.
Severe eczema was reported in 0.6% of children and 1.1% of adolescents.
Surveys were used to assess eczema prevalence, severity and lifetime prevalence in global centres participating in Global Asthma Network (GAN) global surveillance Phase I (2015–2020) and one/both International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Phase I (1993–1995) and Phase III (2001–2003), using standardised methods, allowing assessment of prevalence over three decades.
Investigators estimated an average increase over 27 years in the prevalence of current eczema symptoms of 0.98% per decade in adolescents and 1.21% per decade in children.
There was substantial variation in changes in eczema prevalence over time by income and region.
“Eczema remains a big public health problem around the world,” said corresponding author Sinéad Langan, PhD, of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
The authors state that the changes in eczema prevalence over 10 or 20 years suggested by this analysis support the idea that environmental factors are relevant. This is because rapid changes cannot be attributed to genetics, but the patterns are complex.
The study also found that current eczema symptoms, severe eczema symptoms and lifetime prevalence of eczema in high-income countries were increasing in adolescents, but appeared to be plateauing in children. In low-income countries, these outcomes were stably decreasing or the decrease was accelerating in both children and adolescents.
“Global research efforts are needed to address the burden related to eczema with continued international efforts to identify strategies to prevent the onset of eczema and to better manage the impact on individuals, their families and health service,” Langan said.
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