[Atopic eczema in children: a prospective study into prevalence and severity].
OBJECTIVE
To study the prevalence and severity of atopic eczema (AE) in children aged 0 to 4 years.


METHODS
Observational study.


METHODS
We registered all children who visited the child health centres in the West-Veluwe region of the Netherlands between 1 January and 30 April 2005 and used objective criteria to establish if they suffered from AE. Data were also collected about subjective symptoms such as itch and sleeping problems and the severity of AE was established using the Three Item Severity (TIS) score.


RESULTS
A total of 9351 children were examined for eczema (5796 infants and 3555 toddlers) . Infants suffered more frequently from eczema than toddlers (8.70% versus 5.54%) and boys suffered more than girls.


CONCLUSIONS
The total prevalence of AE in this study group of children aged 0 to 4 years was 7.5%.
GlaxoSmithKline, Zeist, The Netherlands.
Pauline C
PC
Dirven-Meijer
Eltjo J
EJ
Glazenburg
Paul G H
PG
Mulder
Arnold P
AP
Oranje
D002675:Child, Preschool; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012042:Registries; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors