Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jul;63(7):278-283.
doi: 10.3345/cep.2019.01291. Epub 2020 Jan 29.

Ten-year trends and prevalence of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis among the Korean population, 2008-2017

Jihyun Ha  1 , Seung Won Lee  2 , Dong Keon Yon  1   3
Affiliations

Ten-year trends and prevalence of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis among the Korean population, 2008-2017

Jihyun Ha et al. Clin Exp Pediatr. 2020 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Major questions remain regarding the age-stratified trends of allergic diseases and asthma in Korea.

Purpose: To identify the estimated recent prevalence and 10- year trends in asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis among the Korean population from 2008 to 2017.

Methods: This nationwide cross-sectional survey (Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) over 10 years (2008-2017) examined representative samples of the Korean population (n=85,006) including 2,131 infants, 4,352 preschool children, 12,919 school-age children, 44,200 adults, and 21,404 elderly adults.

Results: In the 2016 to 2017 population, the estimated prevalence of asthma was 0.9% in infants, 2.3% in preschool children, 4.1% in school-age children, 2.3% in adults, and 4.1% in the elderly. The estimated prevalence of allergic rhinitis was 9.0%, 20.2%, 27.6%, 17.1%, and 6.9%, respectively. The estimated prevalence of atopic dermatitis was 5.9%, 11.3%, 14.6%, 3.9%, and 1.6%, respectively. Ten-year trends revealed a significant decrease in asthma prevalence in infants, preschool children, and the elderly. and in atopic dermatitis prevalence in infants and preschool children (P<0.05 for all trends). Furthermore, 10-year trends demonstrated a significant increase in allergic rhinitis prevalence in school-age children, adults, and the elderly, and in atopic dermatitis prevalence in school-age children and the elderly (P<0.05 for all trends).

Conclusion: These results improve our understanding of the age-stratified epidemiology of allergic diseases in Korea and suggest the need for the development of tailored and precise strategies to prevent allergic diseases in different age groups.

Keywords: Allergic rhinitis; Asthma; Atopic dermatitis; Korea, Prevalence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Ten-year trends of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis among the Korean infants (<2 years), Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), 2008–2017.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Ten-year trends of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis among the Korean preschool children (2–5 years), Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), 2008–2017.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
age children (6–18 years), Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), 2008–2017.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Ten-year trends of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis among the Korean Adults (19–59 years), Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), 2008–2017.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 5.
Ten-year trends of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis among the Korean elderly (≥60 years), Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), 2008–2017.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Pawankar R. Allergic diseases and asthma: a global public health concern and a call to action. World Allergy Organ J. 2014;7:12. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kang SY, Song WJ, Cho SH, Chang YS. Time trends of the prevalence of allergic diseases in Korea: A systematic literature review. Asia Pac Allergy. 2018;8:e8. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sol IS, Kim YH, Kim SY, Choi SH, Kim JD, Kim BO, et al. Prescription patterns and burden of pediatric asthma in Korea. Allergy Asthma Immunol Res. 2019;11:280–90. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Song WJ, Wong GWK. Changing trends and challenges in the management of asthma in Asia. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2017;140:1272–4. - PubMed
    1. Kim BK, Kim JY, Kang MK, Yang MS, Park HW, Min KU, et al. Allergies are still on the rise? A 6-year nationwide population-based study in Korea. Allergol Int. 2016;65:186–91. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources