BMJ 1995;311:1241-1242 (11 November)

Editorials

Atopic eczema

We should look to the environment

Atopic eczema now affects at least one in 10 schoolchildren in Europe.1 Affected children often have to endure intractable itching, chronic loss of sleep, and the stigma of a visible disease. Family life is also disrupted, and the costs of atopic eczema in Britain may be as high as £470 million each year, with up to half of the costs being met by patients.2 Although much scientific energy has been directed towards understanding how atopic eczema behaves at a cellular level, the causes of the disease are still poorly understood. While few doubt the importance of genetic predisposition,3 recent observations from a range of sources suggest that environmental factors may also be crucial.

Several studies have suggested that the prevalence of eczema has increased twofold to threefold over the past 30 years.3 Some of this increase probably reflects changes in the way in which . . . [Full text of this article]


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Zhang, G., Spickett, J., Lee, A. H., Rumchev, K., Stick, S. (2006). Ever Eczema and Itchy Rash in Relation to Domestic Environments in Primary School Children. Indoor and Built Environment 15: 535-541 [Abstract]  
  • Williams, H. C. (2005). Atopic Dermatitis. NEJM 352: 2314-2324 [Full text]  
Access all current jobs at BMJ Group
Whats new online at Student BMJ
Listen to the latest BMJ Interview