Abstract
Background Over the past 30 years the prevalence of atopic
diseases has been increasing worldwide, especially in developed Western
countries. It is not known if the prevalence of atopic diseases in the
Netherlands has continued to rise, decreased, or plateaued since 2014.
We aimed to determine the incidence and prevalence of childhood atopic
dermatitis, asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and the atopic triad
in primary care. Methods A retrospective cohort study within
the Rijnmond Primary Care Database consisting of electronic primary care
health records. Results Between 2013-2021 22,123 children were
available for analysis. The prevalence rate for atopic dermatitis was
8.4 per 100 patient years (PYs); for asthma 4.2 per 100 PYs; and for
allergic rhinoconjunctivitis 5.3 per 100 PYs. The average prevalence of
the atopic triad was 0.22 per 100 PYs. Median age of disease-onset and
peak prevalence for atopic dermatitis was at three years for both
outcomes; for asthma at nine and seventeen years; and for allergic
rhinoconjunctivitis at 10 and 17 years, respectively.
Conclusions Atopic diseases are prevalent among the childhood
primary care population of Rijnmond and we observed increasing incidence
and prevalence rates for allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. Atopic dermatitis
had its peak prevalence at the youngest age, and is followed by asthma
and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. Further, we found a significant sex
disparity for all atopic diseases.