Clinical features of elderly chronic urticaria.
OBJECTIVE
Chronic urticaria (CU) is defined as itchy wheals lasting 6 weeks or more. As the aged population increases worldwide, it is essential to identify the specific features of this disease in the elderly population.


METHODS
We investigated the prevalence and clinical features of CU in elderly patients. Medical records of 837 CU patients from the outpatient Allergy Clinic of Ajou University Hospital, Korea were analyzed retrospectively. Patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria according to the EAACI/GA2LEN/EDF/WAO guidelines were included. Patients older than 60 years were defined as elderly.


RESULTS
Of the 837 patients, 37 (4.5%) were elderly. In elderly versus nonelderly CU patients, the prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD) was significantly higher (37.8% vs. 21.7%, respectively; p = 0.022), while that of aspirin intolerance was lower (18.9% vs. 43.6%, respectively; p = 0.003) in terms of comorbid conditions. The prevalences of serum specific immunoglobulin E antibodies to staphylococcal enterotoxin A and staphylococcal enterotoxin B were considerably higher in elderly CU patients with AD than in those without AD (37.5% vs. 0%, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
Elderly patients with CU had a higher prevalence of AD. Therefore, there is a need to recognize the existence of AD in elderly CU patients.
Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
Ga-Young
GY
Ban
Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
Mi-Yea
MY
Kim
Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
Hye-Soo
HS
Yoo
Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
Dong-Ho
DH
Nahm
Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
Young-Min
YM
Ye
Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
Yoo-Seob
YS
Shin
Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
Hae-Sim
0000-0003-2614-0303
HS
Park
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015897:Comorbidity; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; D015995:Prevalence; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014581:Urticaria / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D055815:Young Adult
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D015415:Biomarkers; D004768:Enterotoxins; C026066:enterotoxin A, Staphylococcal; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; C031818:enterotoxin B, staphylococcal
Aged; Chronic urticaria; Dermatitis, atopic; Specific IgE to staphylococcal superantigen