Korean J Intern Med.  2014 Nov;29(6):800-806. 10.3904/kjim.2014.29.6.800.

Clinical features of elderly chronic urticaria

• Ban GY
• Kim MY
• Yoo HS
• Nahm DH
• Ye YM
• Shin YS
• Park HS

• KMID: 2070138
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3904/kjim.2014.29.6.800

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Chronic urticaria (CU) is defined as itchy wheals lasting 6 weeks or more. As the aged population increases worldwide, it is essential to identify the specific features of this disease in the elderly population.
METHODS
We investigated the prevalence and clinical features of CU in elderly patients. Medical records of 837 CU patients from the outpatient Allergy Clinic of Ajou University Hospital, Korea were analyzed retrospectively. Patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria according to the EAACI/GA2LEN/EDF/WAO guidelines were included. Patients older than 60 years were defined as elderly.
RESULTS
Of the 837 patients, 37 (4.5%) were elderly. In elderly versus nonelderly CU patients, the prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD) was significantly higher (37.8% vs. 21.7%, respectively; p = 0.022), while that of aspirin intolerance was lower (18.9% vs. 43.6%, respectively; p = 0.003) in terms of comorbid conditions. The prevalences of serum specific immunoglobulin E antibodies to staphylococcal enterotoxin A and staphylococcal enterotoxin B were considerably higher in elderly CU patients with AD than in those without AD (37.5% vs. 0%, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS
Elderly patients with CU had a higher prevalence of AD. Therefore, there is a need to recognize the existence of AD in elderly CU patients.

Keyword

Chronic urticaria; Aged; Dermatitis, atopic; Specific IgE to staphylococcal superantigen

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Adult
Age Factors
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging
Antibodies, Bacterial/blood
Biological Markers/blood
Child
Chronic Disease
Comorbidity
Dermatitis, Atopic/diagnosis/epidemiology
Enterotoxins/immunology
Female
Hospitals, University
Humans
Immunoglobulin E/blood
Male
Middle Aged
Outpatient Clinics, Hospital
Prevalence
Republic of Korea/epidemiology
Retrospective Studies
Risk Factors
Severity of Illness Index
Urticaria/blood/*diagnosis/*epidemiology/immunology
Young Adult
Antibodies, Bacterial
Biological Markers
Enterotoxins
Immunoglobulin E