Introduction: It is estimated that 12-26% of the European population is suffering from atopic dermatitis. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of atopic dermatitis in the general population of the Łódź province in Poland and to attempt to identify the risk factors for this disease.
Material and methods: We investigated a randomly selected group of 1522 inhabitants of the Łódź province aged between 3 and 80 years. The demographic and anamnestic data were collected by means of standardised questionnaires. Skin prick testing was performed with 10 aeroallergens commonly occurring in Poland.
Results: We analysed complete data sets from 1340 (283 children and 1057 adults). The prevalence of atopic dermatitis was estimated at 9.2% in children and 0.9% in adults. Family history of atopy and exposure to tobacco smoke were found to be strong risk factors of atopic dermatitis (OR 3.69 and 3.40, respectively). The difference in the prevalence of atopic dermatitis between inhabitants of the city centre and inhabitants of rural areas was observed only in adults, while children inhabiting both types of area were characterised by the same high prevalence rate. We found that 38% of the children and 10% of the adults had not been correctly diagnosed with atopic dermatitis prior to this epidemiological study.
Conclusions: The results of our epidemiological study show that atopic dermatitis has become a significant health, social and economic problem. The equalisation of the prevalence rates of atopic dermatitis in inhabitants of rural and urban areas may reflect an increase in the prevalence of other atopic diseases in this population and the disappearance of differences between rural and urban areas.