Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Background: The prevalence of eczema, particularly in younger children, increased substantially over the second half of the 20th century. Analysis of primary healthcare data-sets offers the possibility to advance understanding about the changing epidemiology of eczema. Aim: To investigate recent trends in the recorded incidence, lifetime prevalence, prescribing and consulting behaviour of patients with eczema in England. Methods: QRESEARCH is one of the world's largest national aggregated health databases containing the records of over nine million patients. We extracted data on all patients with a recorded diagnosis of eczema and calculated annual age-sex standardized incidence and lifetime period prevalence rates for each year from 2001-2005. We also analysed the consulting behaviour of these patients when compared with the rest of the QRESEARCH database population. The number of eczema prescriptions issued to people in England was also estimated. Results: The age-sex standardized incidence of eczema was 9.58 per 1000 person-years in 2001 and increased to 13.58 per 1000 patients in 2005 (p<0.001). By 2005, eczema affected an estimated 5,773,700 (95% confidence intervals [CI] 5,754,100-5,793,400) individuals in England, who, on average, consulted a general practitioner 4.02 (95% CI 4.01-4.03) times a year. During the study period, the number of eczema related prescriptions increased by 56.6% (95% CI 56.6-56.7), so by 2005 an estimated 13,690,300 (95% CI 13,643,200-13,737,600) prescriptions were issued. Conclusions: Recorded incidence and lifetime prevalence of eczema in England continue to increase. Similar increases have also been observed in the estimated number of eczema prescriptions issued to the English population.

Original publication

DOI

10.1258/jrsm.2009.080211

Type

Journal article

Journal

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine

Publication Date

01/03/2009

Volume

102

Pages

108 - 117