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

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 [ 1 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 Crossref PubMed Scopus (80) Google Scholar , 2 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 Crossref PubMed Scopus (106) Google Scholar , 3 Hanifin J.M. Reed M.L. A population-based survey of eczema prevalence in the United States. Dermatitis. 2007; 18: 82-91 Crossref PubMed Scopus (263) Google Scholar , 4 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 Crossref PubMed Scopus (61) Google Scholar , 5 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 Crossref PubMed Scopus (102) Google Scholar , 6 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 Crossref PubMed Scopus (60) Google Scholar ]. Most of the studies done were based on questionnaires [ 1 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 Crossref PubMed Scopus (80) Google Scholar , 2 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 Crossref PubMed Scopus (106) Google Scholar , 3 Hanifin J.M. Reed M.L. A population-based survey of eczema prevalence in the United States. Dermatitis. 2007; 18: 82-91 Crossref PubMed Scopus (263) Google Scholar , 4 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 Crossref PubMed Scopus (61) Google Scholar ]. We evaluated the prevalence of AD in Japanese adults based on regular health check-ups by dermatologists at Tokyo University in 2004 [ [6] 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 Crossref PubMed Scopus (60) Google Scholar ]. 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 [ [6] 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 Crossref PubMed Scopus (60) Google Scholar ]. 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.