Prevalence of Atopic Dermatitis in 7-11 Year Old School Children, Ahwaz

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a multifactorial chronic and inflammatory disease present all over the world. Only a few epidemiologic studies on AD have been carried out in the eastern world, while most of the published papers belong to western countries. To determine prevalence of AD in 7-11 year-old school children in Ahwaz as there has been no previous study in this region.

In this descriptive study, 2500 children aged between 7 and11 years (1250 boy and 1250 girls) were examined on the basis of Hanifin and Radjka criteria. Collected data was analyzed to detect frequency of AD on the basis of Radjka and Hanifin major and minor criteria.

Of the total, 3.9% suffered from atopic dermatitis (4.3%girls and 3.4%boys) and all of them had major criteria, itching and chronic recurrent dermatitis.

Considering the prevalence of AD in children of Ahwaz, it is proposed that programs and measures for reduction of external aggravating factors and similarly, education of the patient’s families can reduce the complications and improve the quality of life in these children.