Allergy Asthma Respir Dis.  2015 Mar;3(2):128-133. 10.4168/aard.2015.3.2.128.

Association between social economic status and atopic dermatitis in Korean adult: an analysis of the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010-2012)

• Kim BJ
• Jung JA
• Lee JS

• KMID: 2168505
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4168/aard.2015.3.2.128

Abstract

PURPOSE
Atopic dermatitis is one of the most common allergic diseases, and its prevalence has been increasing in recent decades. Social economic status is a well-known risk factor for allergic disease. This study was performed to investigate the relationship between social economic status and atopic dermatitis in Korean adults.
METHODS
Data were acquired from 18,066 men and women aged older than 19 years who participated in the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES), which was conducted from 2010 to 2012. The presence of atopic dermatitis was based on self-reported physician diagnosis of atopic dermatitis in the Health Interview Surveys.
RESULTS
The prevalence of atopic dermatitis was 2.3%, which decreased with age. In univariate analysis, adults with atopic dermatitis were younger, well-educated, had higher monthly family income, had more household members, and lived in the urban area (P<0.05), whereas sex, residential type, or smoking status was not associated with the presence of atopic dermatitis. The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and obesity were lower in atopic dermatitis subjects, while asthma was higher (P<0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that younger age and the presence of asthma were associated with higher prevalence of atopic dermatitis (P<0.01).
CONCLUSION
The results of this study suggest that younger age and the prevalence of asthma may be important risk factors for the prevalence of atopic dermatitis in Korean adults. These results warrant future studies to explore mechanisms underlying the association between social economic status and atopic dermatitis.

Keyword

Atopic dermatitis; Education; Economics; Income

MeSH Terms

Adult*
Asthma
Dermatitis, Atopic*
Diabetes Mellitus
Diagnosis
Education
Family Characteristics
Female
Humans
Hypertension
Korea
Logistic Models
Male
Nutrition Surveys*
Obesity
Prevalence
Risk Factors
Smoke
Smoking
Smoke

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