Clinical Characteristics of Adolescence and Adult Atopic Dermatitis in Korea

Kwon, Ji Ae; Roh, Kee Young; Koh, Bo Kyung; Kim, Jin Wou

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a very common disease with peak prevalence among infants and children. Until now, adolescence and adult AD (AAD) patients have been overlooked because they were relatively small population and AAD were considered merely consecutive of infant and childhood AD. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate clinical characteristics of AAD in Korea and different characteristics of childhood AD. METHODS: We evaluated the clinical features of AD in 48 patients. We obtained informations about the age of onset, associated allergic diseases, aggravating factors and seasonal aggravation from the history using a standardized questionnaire. And clinical features of all subjects were evaluated by one investigator and recorded according to anatomical region. RESULTS: 23 patients (48%) reported onset of AD was after 12 years old and 25 patients (52%) reported onset before 12 years old. Only nine patients have suffered AD from infancy. 25 patients (52%) were associated with allergic asthma and/or rhinitis. Most important aggravating factor was climate with seasonal variation. Other common aggravating factors were stress, sweating, dryness and house dust. And numerous patients who experienced seasonal aggravation replied that symptoms had flared from July to August and December. The face, trunk, extremities, scalp and neck were common sites of dermatitis and most of the patients (93%) showed the facial involvement. Red face (68%) and dandruff (45%) were the most common features of the face and the scalp, respectively. About one third of the patients showed the involvement of the neck, presenting as dirty neck or dermatitis. Dryness of the trunk and eczema of flexural areas of the extremities were also common. And 13 patients had hand-foot dermatitis. Keratosis pilaris, hyperlinear palm and ichthyosis vulgaris were detected in 21 (43%), 14 (29%) and 9 patients (18%). CONCLUSION: This study shows AAD is so different from childhood AD, suggesting that AAD may not be merely consecutive of infant and childhood AD.