All issues > Volume 51(6); 2008

Original Article

Korean J Pediatr. 2008;51(6):640-645. Published online June 15, 2008.

Clinical manifestations patterns of allergic disease in Korean children under the age of 6 : multi-center study

Dong Il DI Kim¹, Hyeon Jong HJ Yang¹, Young Mean YM Park², Yeong Ho YH Rha³, Ji Tai JT Choung⁴, Bok Yang BY Pyun¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, Seoul, Korea
²Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul, Korea
³Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Kyunghee University, Korea University , Seoul, Korea
⁴Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence Bok Yang BY Pyun ,Email: bypyun@hosp.sch.ac.kr

Abstract

Purpose
: It is widely known that allergic diseases progress through an allergic march. However, there have not been any recent reports in Korea on how the diseases progress.
Methods
: Parents who visited one of the Pediatric Allergy Clinics of four university hospitals in Seoul with a child under the age of 6 years during the period from May 1-30, 2006 were asked to complete a questionnaire.
Results
: A total of 229 parents answered the questionnaire about their children, of which 122 were male and 107 were female. The most common allergic disease before 2 years of age was atopic dermatitis (79%). Meanwhile, in 2- to 4-year age group, allergic rhinitis (38%) and asthma (37%) were predominant. The most common allergic disease in the 4- to 6-year age group was asthma (72%), followed by allergic rhinitis (64%). Seventy-three percent of the children had a family history of allergic disease, most often in the fathers (39%). Among patients with allergic rhinitis, 50% had experienced asthma in their earlier days and 30% had experienced atopic dermatitis. In addition, 57% of the children with asthma had suffered from atopic dermatitis. Parents believed that asthma was the most serious allergic disease.
Conclusion
: In the present study, allergic disease showed a tendency to march from atopic dermatitis to asthma and then to allergic rhinitis. Early diagnosis and treatment of atopic dermatitis is, therefore, considered important for prevention of the allergic march.

Keywords :Allergic march, Questionnaire, Multicenter study