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Atopic Dermatitis in Italian Pre-School Children: Literature Review of Epidemiological Data with a Focus on Disease Prevalence and Severity.

Iria NeriCarlotta GaleoneClaudio PelucchiGianluca RonciPaolo MatruglioMaria Paola PedoneElena Galli
Published in: Children (Basel, Switzerland) (2023)
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is one of the most common diseases worldwide. Severe AD has a major impact on the quality of life of patients. We performed a systematic literature review on the epidemiology of AD in Italian pre-school children (age 0-5 years) and we assessed the available data on the severity of AD. In August 2022, we performed a bibliographic search using PubMed/Medline and EMBASE. We identified 10 studies with Italian data on the prevalence and/or incidence of AD in pre-school children. The period (12 months) prevalence of AD varied widely across studies, ranging between 4.0% and 42.2%, with median estimates of 14.3% among all studies and 11.8% among studies from 2010 onwards. Applied to the Italian population, this leads to a prevalence of 309,000-375,000 pre-school AD cases. Only one study computed the incidence of AD, reporting rates of 9 cases per 100 person-years in children aged 0-1 year, and 2.5 cases per 100 person-years in children aged 1-4 years. Severity data from Italy were also reviewed, across three identified three studies. A point estimate found 8.4% of cases were considered severe in one study based on the Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM), with an overall range of 7.8-11% across different Italian studies and according to various severity score types.
Keyphrases
  • risk factors
  • atopic dermatitis
  • case control
  • electronic health record
  • big data
  • case report
  • mental health
  • ejection fraction
  • end stage renal disease
  • data analysis
  • computed tomography
  • patient reported