Trends in eczema in the first 18 years of life: results from the Isle of Wight 1989 birth cohort study

• Published in: Clinical and experimental allergy 2010-12, Vol.40 (12), p.1776-1784
• Main Authors: Ziyab, A. H., Raza, A., Karmaus, W., Tongue, N., Zhang, H., Matthews, S., Arshad, S. H., Roberts, G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescence; Adolescent; Allergic diseases; atopy; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child development; Child, Preschool; Children; Children & youth; Cohort Studies; Dermatitis, Atopic - epidemiology; Eczema; Eczema - epidemiology; England - epidemiology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fundamental immunology; Gender; Humans; Immunopathology; incidence; Infant; Male; Medical sciences; negative transition; positive transition; Prevalence; Remission; Sex Factors; Skin allergic diseases. Stinging insect allergies; Trends
• ISSN: 0954-7894; 1365-2222
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.2010.03633.x

Summary Background Trends in the prevalence of eczema in the course of childhood and adolescence are not clear although often a net remission during childhood is assumed. Objectives To investigate the dynamics of change in eczema from 1 to 18 years in a prospective study and to understand the influence of gender and atopy. Methods Detailed information regarding eczema were collected at ages 1, 2, 4, 10 and 18 years from the 1989 Isle of Wight birth cohort (n=1456). Skin prick testing was performed at 4, 10 and 18 years of age. The 12‐month period prevalence, positive and negative transitions (defined as change in disease status in two consecutive study assessments) were stratified by gender and atopic status. Results The period prevalence of eczema from birth to 18 years of age remained relatively constant (11.9–14.2%) with minimal remission. Up to 10 years of age, gender did not influence prevalence. From 10 to 18 years, eczema became more prevalent among girls (16.3% for girls vs. 8.3% for boys, P