title: Epidemiology and clinical features of atopic dermatitis in kerman, a desert area of iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Epidemiologic studies of atopic dermatitis (AD) in desert areas are still lacking.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology of AD in children in Kerman city, a desert area in Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated preschool children (age, 2 to 7 years) and primary school students (age, greater than 7 up to 12 years) in Kerman. We selected 865 students to estimate the prevalence and assess other features of AD such as distribution of lesions, personal history, family history of atopy, aggravating factors, associated symptoms, and morphological variants.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of AD was 9.1% in our study population. The prevalence of AD was 9.17% and 9.09% in males and females, respectively. The prevalence of AD in the age range of 2 to 7 years was 13.53% and 8.33% among children aged greater than 7 up to 12 years. In total, 82.27% of the patients were in chronic stage of the disease, and 31.6% had a personal history of other atopic diseases. At least one first-degree family member with atopy was seen in 46.83% of the patients. The most common sites of involvement were the head and neck. The most involved areas in the limbs were extensor surfaces. The most frequent morphological variant of AD was the common type.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of AD in Kerman was higher than in other Iranian cities but lower than that in developed countries. Diversity in the clinical features of AD has been observed among different studies, and the diagnostic criteria of AD should be adapted in proportion to the studied area.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dermatology, Dermatology and Leishmania Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors.forename: Saeedeh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Farajzadeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dermatology, Dermatology and Leishmania Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors.forename: Iraj
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Esfandiarpour
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dermatology, Dermatology and Leishmania Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sedaghatmanesh
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dermatology, Dermatology and Leishmania Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahdieh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saviz
keywords: Atopic dermatitis; Epidemiology; Kerman; Preschool and primary school children; Prevalence