Symptoms and Signs of Atopic Dermatitis and Levels of Serum IgE and Eosionphil Counts in Young Adult Patients with Seborrheic Dermatitis

Chung, Sang Lip; Chang, Jae Won; Lee, Seok Jong; Kim, Do Won; Kwon, Soon Baek

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Seborrheic dermatitis and atopic dermatitis are clinically different diseases, but symptoms and signs of atopic dermatitis often can be found simultaneously in patients with seborrheic dermatitis.OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate if patients with seborrheic dermatitis have the symptoms and signs of atopic dermatitis at the same time, and to measure the levels of serum IgE and eosinophil counts. METHODS: Seventy eight patients with seborrheic dermatitis on the scalp and face, 64 patients with atopic dermatitis and 88 normal subjects were observed clinically by the dermatologist and studied statistically using questionnaires. Levels of total IgE and eosinophil counts were measured by blood sampling in the total number of subjects. RESULTS: Among 20 items of the questionnaire regarding the symptoms and signs of atopic dermatitis, 6 items were more frequent in only the atopic patients than in the normal control, 2 items were more frequent in only the seborrheic dermatitis patients and 8 in both diseases. The mean levels of serum IgE in seborrheic dermatitis patients were lower than in atopic patients, but significantly higher than that of the normal control and 21.3% of those had IgE levels above the normal range.When we classified the seborrheic dermatitis patients according to the combined skin diseases, the mean levels of IgE were highest in the patients with seborrheic dermatitis and male pattern bladness, but the value was not significant compared to that of the normal control. The mean levels of eosinophil counts in seborrheic dermatitis patients were higher than in the normal control, but it was not significant statistically. CONCLUSION: According to the results of the study, the patients with seborrheic dermatitis showed a higher incidence of symptoms and signs of atopic dermatitis and higher levels of serum IgE than the normal subjects. Further studies will be needed to elucidate the relationship between seborrheic dermatitis and atopic dermatitis.