RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The prevalence of adult atopic dermatitis (AD) in general population range from 2.6% to 8% according to objective diagnosis in selected groups of people. The adult-onset AD is the clinical form arising de novo in adulthood. The aim of this study was to detect retrospectively the prevalence of AD in Italian general population, examining a sample of young Italian males affected by AD, which was representative of people of same sex and age, and to point out the clinical and allergological differences between the persistent and adult-onset form. METHODS: 198,730 potential male conscripts were visited in Italian Navy and Air Force Recruitment's Centers in Taranto to evaluate their fitness to recruitment. All the young men who showed eczema were referred to Italian Navy Hospital. The diagnosis of AD was stated according to Hanifin and Rajka's criteria. All the patients were patch and prick tested. RESULTS: One hundred twenty-four cases of AD were diagnosed, with a prevalence of 6.2 cases for 10,000 subjects (95% CI: 5.2-7.4). The subjects with the persistent form were 68 (75.6%; 95% CI: 66.7-84.4) vs. 26 patients with the adult-onset form (21.0%; 95% CI: 13.8-28.1). No statistical difference in clinical and allergological variables was showed between the persistent and adult-onset AD. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of adult AD in a large sample of young males - representative of the general population of same age and sex - is appreciably lower than the rates previously reported. No clinical feature or allergological variable discriminate between persistent vs. adult-onset varieties.