Little is known about the current global prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD) in the pediatric population.
To estimate the real-world global prevalence of AD in the pediatric population and by disease severity.
This international, cross-sectional, web-based survey of children/adolescents (6 months to <18 years old) was conducted in 18 countries: North America (Canada, United States), Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Mexico), Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom), Middle East/Eurasia (Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Russia), and East Asia (Japan, Taiwan). Prevalence was determined using two defintions: 1) diagnosed AD according to the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) criteria and self/parent-report of ever being told by a physician that they/their child had AD (eczema); 2) reported AD based on ISAAC crtieria only. Severity was assessed using the Patient Global Assessment (PtGA) and Patient Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM).
Among 65,661 responders, the 12-month diagnosed AD prevalence (ISAAC+self-reported diagnosis) ranged from 2.7% to 20.1% across countries; reported AD (ISAAC only) was 13.5% to 41.9%. Severe AD assessed with both PtGA and POEM was generally <15%; more subjects rated AD as mild on PtGA than suggested by POEM. No trends in prevalence were observed based on age or sex; prevalence was generally lower in rural residential settings relative to urban/suburban.
This global survey in 18 countries showed that AD affects a substantial proportion of the pediatric population. Although prevalence and severity varied across age groups and countries, <15% had severe AD.

Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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