Association between parental history of allergic diseases and atopic dermatitis in school aged children

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study aimed to examine the relationship between parent's history of allergic disease and children's atopic dermatitis. METHODS: Data from the 2011 Research on the Current Status of Atopic Disease with Elementary Schools and Kindergartens in Suwon were used for analysis. Among 20,052 persons consenting to the survey, 18,943 who had answered parent's history were included in the study. RESULTS: The prevalence of father, mother, and parent's allergic disease history were 8.5%, 9.5%, and 2.3%, respective. The children with atopic dermatitis comprised 15.1% of the study population. In multivariate analysis, gender, weight at birth, the practice of breast-feeding, father's educational level, the presence of chemical products in the inside, and the presence of mold were significant risk factors for children's atopic dermatitis. The multivariate-adjusted odds ratio for the occurrence of children's atopic dermatitis was 3.19 (95% confidence interval, 2.57-3.95) when subjects with and without parent's history were compared. CONCLUSION: When fathers have a history of allergic disease, children tend to have atopic dermatitis.