title: Allergies are still on the rise? A 6-year nationwide population-based study in Korea.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Some western countries recently have shown a slowdown in the incidence of allergic diseases after worldwide increasing trends, but there are few data from Asian populations concerning changing trend of allergic diseases. We evaluated the recent trends in the prevalence of asthma and other allergic diseases in Korea.
  
  
  METHODS
  From the database of Korean National Health Insurance, a nationwide diagnostic data from 2009 to 2014 were extracted and the national prevalence was analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence per 1000 people of atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, and asthma in 2014 was 19.0, 133.1, and 36.3, respectively. The prevalence of three diseases was highest in the age group under 10 as, 95.0, 384.1, and 132.1 per 1000 people, while the prevalence in the over-10-year-group was only 11.6, 109.5, and 27.3, respectively. The prevalence of atopic dermatitis and allergic rhinitis gradually decreased with older age, but the prevalence of asthma showed a re-increasing pattern from the age group 30-39 and reached another peak for the age group 70-79. During the study period, the prevalence of asthma and atopic dermatitis showed decreasing tendency. In contrast, the prevalence of allergic rhinitis steadily increased until 2013, especially in the age group under 10.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The national prevalence of atopic dermatitis, and asthma did not show noticeable increase any more in Korea. However, the prevalence of allergic rhinitis still on the rise until recently, especially in the age group under 10. This is the first report in Asia suggesting a slowdown of the incidence of allergic diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Institute of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Byung-Keun
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Institute of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Ju-Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Institute of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Min-Koo
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, South Korea; Department of Internal Medicine, SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Min-Suk
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Institute of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Heung-Woo
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Institute of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung-Up
authors.initials: KU
authors.lastname: Min
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Institute of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Sang-Heon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Institute of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, South Korea. Electronic address: helenmed@snu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Hye-Ryun
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Kang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Allergic rhinitis; Asthma; Atopic dermatitis; Epidemiology; Prevalence