Worldwide variations in the prevalence of symptoms of atopic eczema in the international study of asthma and allergies in childhood☆,☆☆,★,★★
Section snippets
METHODS
The ISAAC Phase One study used core questionnaires designed to assess the prevalence and severity of atopic eczema, asthma, and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis symptoms in defined populations. The methods have been described in detail in the ISAAC manual15 and in an article concerning rationale and methods.11 Ethical approval was obtained locally for the centers.
RESULTS
Response rates for individual centers were generally very high (73% of all centers with response rates between 90% and 100%, 22% between 80% and 89%, 5% between 70% and 79%, and 1 center with a response rate of 66% for those aged 13 to 14 years). Exact response rates and the various languages used in the translated questionnaires are presented elsewhere.13 Table II shows the prevalence of symptoms of atopic eczema in children aged 6 to 7 years from 90 centers and children aged 13 to 14 years in
DISCUSSION
For the first time, prevalence data for symptoms of atopic eczema based on data from a standardized questionnaire encompassing responses from persons with a wide range of physical, socioeconomic, and ethnic backgrounds in all major world regions has been made available. Most of the previous surveys of atopic eczema prevalence have been conducted in Northern Europe,7, 10 and this may have given the impression that atopic eczema is mainly a disease of developed countries in cooler climates. This
Acknowledgements
The Writing Committee consisted of H. C. Williams, C. F. Robertson, and A. W. Stewart. The ISAAC Steering Committee consisted of N. Aït-Khaled, G. Anabwani, H. R. Anderson, M. I. Asher (Chair), R. Beasley (Coordinator Phase One), B. Björkstén, M. Burr, T. Clayton, J. Crane, P. Ellwood, U. Keil, C. K. W. Lai, J. Mallol, F. Martinez, E. A. Mitchell, S. Montefort, N. Pearce, C. F. Robertson, J. R. Shah, B. Sibbald, A. W. Stewart, D. Strachan, E. von Mutius, S. K. Weiland (Coordinator Phase Two),
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Cited by (0)
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Supported by the Health Research Council of New Zealand, the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation of New Zealand, the National Child Health Research Foundation, the Hawke’s Bay Medical Research Foundation, the Waikato Medical Research Foundation, Glaxo Wellcome New Zealand, and Astra New Zealand.
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The ISAAC website address is http://isaac.auckland.ac.nz/.
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Reprint requests: Hywel Williams, PhD, Queen’s Medical Centre, University Hospital, Nottingham, NG7 2UH, United Kingdom.
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