J Korean Med Sci.  2012 Jun;27(6):681-685. 10.3346/jkms.2012.27.6.681.

Prevalence of Atopic Dermatitis in Korea: Analysis by Using National Statistics

• Yu JS
• Lee CJ
• Lee HS
• Kim J
• Han Y
• Ahn K
• Lee SI

• KMID: 1421622
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2012.27.6.681

Abstract

We attempted to investigate the prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD) in Korea by using national statistics. Data on AD patients who received medical service at least once a year from 2003 through 2008 were collected from health insurance research team of National Health Insurance Corporation. Data of estimated populations during the same period were obtained from the Statistics Korea. In 2008, the prevalence of AD was 26.5% in aged 12-23 months and decreased substantially to 7.6% at age 6 yr, 3.4% at age 12 yr and to 2.4% at age 18 yr. In males, the prevalence was higher than females until 2 yr of age, while the opposite was shown in children aged 2 yr or older. In children aged less than 24 months, the prevalence of AD has increased from 19.8% to 23.8% between the years 2003 and 2008, while the prevalence showed no increase in the older age group. In conclusion, the prevalence of AD in 2008 peaked during infancy up to 26.5% and decreased thereafter. Our findings also suggest that increasing prevalence of AD in children less than 24 months might be responsible for the recent increase in the prevalence of AD in Korean children.

Keyword

Prevalence; Dermatitis, Atopic; Korea

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Adult
Age Factors
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Child
Child, Preschool
Databases, Factual
Dermatitis, Atopic/*epidemiology
Female
Humans
Infant
Male
Middle Aged
National Health Programs
Prevalence
Republic of Korea/epidemiology
Young Adult

Figure

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  Fig. 1 The number of patients with AD by age and gender in Korea in 2008.

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  Fig. 2 The prevalence of AD by age in Korea in 2008.

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  Fig. 3 The number of patients, estimated population and prevalence of AD in children aged less than 24 months from 2003 through 2008.

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  Fig. 4 The number of patients, estimated population and prevalence of AD in children aged 2-5 yr from 2003 through 2008.

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  Fig. 5 The number of patients, estimated population and prevalence of AD in children aged 6-18 yr from 2003 through 2008.

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