[Association between atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis and asthma in schoolchildren aged 13-14 years old].

BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis is closely related to other atopic diseases, especially asthma and allergic rhinitis. Although there is a certain agreement that suffering from atopic eczema predisposes to asthma and allergic rhinitis, the risk of developing these diseases should be quantified in populations following a standardized method, which is the objective of this study.

METHOD: Using the questionnaire from the International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Childhood (ISAAC), we performed a cross-sectional study of all schoolchildren aged 13 and 14 years old in the city of Cartagena (Murcia, Spain). The relationship between atopic dermatitis and its severity with asthma, allergic asthma, and allergic rhinitis was analyzed.

RESULTS: Quantification of risk showed that schoolchildren with atopic eczema had a 3-fold risk of allergic rhinitis (OR: 3.33; 95 % CI: 2.45-4.54), a 4-fold risk of asthma (OR: 3.85; 95 % CI: 2.74-5.42) and a 5-fold risk of allergic asthma (OR: 4.91; 95 % CI: 3.17-7.59) compared with schoolchildren without atopic eczema. The severity of eczema was also directly related to that of asthma and rhinitis.